At Least somebody loves me
by Jingkura
Summary: Yumi, Chizuru's best friend, has come back after spending eight years with her Aunt in Britain. Embarking on a journey to find her long lost friend her fate intertwines with the Shinsengumi. One by one she charms each of them and with her new friends what can't she do? How many will fall for her? And who will she choose to love?
1. Chapter 1

She loved the cold. It was a nice sharp feeling that keeps you awake. Yumi exhaled letting out a puff of air visible on that cold spring night. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself shivering at the drafts that seemed to blow right through her very soul. While her fingers brushed the dew off of the wool, they felt the cool metal of the pistol strapped to her belt. _Safe. That's what it made her feel._

It had been exactly twelve months since she had gone missing. A whole year. Chizuru's neighbors had been of little help trying to find her and Yumi had been forced to embark on this seemingly endless goosechase in order to find her.

" It's my fault though." Yumi thought pitifully

 _She should have never left for Britain. Then maybe she could have always protected Chizuru. Been there for her as her friend had done for her._ Chizuru and Yumi had been childhood friends. They practically grew up together and thought they would proceed to spend the rest of their lives together in tiny little Edo. However, when Yumi's mother passed away due to a severe case of blistering pneumonia, her Aunt from the West was quick to offer a new life.

Yumi should have stayed. Trusted that as long as Chizuru was there, she'd be alright and everything would work out. But, despite what they had gone through, she didn't.

She had graciously taken the outstretched hand of her Aunt Telula and left as quickly as the English woman had come. However, when Yumi had come back to her homeland, she found Chizuru had abandoned her house to find her father. She still remember the panic she felt upon learning from the neighbors that the Yukimura house had been empty for a whole year. It wasn't just panic though, it was also guilt. The guilt that she could have gone with Chizuru instead of her having to fend for herself in this dangerous world.

Thoughts passed through Yumi's mind as fast of lightning. Sometimes when she was deep in thought like this, everything seemed surreal. _Like a dream._ That she would just wake up back her in bedroom in Yorkshire and that everything didn't actually happen.

* * *

Suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the unfamiliar taps of someone else's footsteps. It was possibly after midnight and no one would ever be walking out at this awful hour unless it was trouble.

Running a hand through her long chocolate brown hair she sighed. That last thing she needed was trouble and as her instincts told her, she started to walk faster. Hopefully she could find an inn soon and settle in for the night.

What was strange was that as her footsteps quicked their pace, the foreign ones did as well. Not even daring to look behind her to see who her "follower" was, she kept a hand on her pistol.

" A woman walking on the streets late at night is always one of the worst situations". Or at least that's what her Aunt always told her.

Suddenly a flash of curiosity and bravado surged through her as she looked behind her to see who those footsteps belonged to.

" Well well well what do we have here. A little lady walking all by herself at this dangerous hour."

A middle aged man sauntered behind her. He already had thinning hair with streaks of gray through it and his bushy eyebrows had the same hue as well. His stomach protrudes from his hakama and he had a round chubby face with small sharp eyes.

Yumi kept silent and continued walking paying no heed to the strange man. He was a creep looking to get some for all she knew. But, ignoring him really didn't seem like an option as he continued to attempt to strike conversation with her.

" Are you a foreigner? What brings you to Kyoto little lady?"

Silence.

" Come on little kitty I don't bite. Shouldn't a woman like you have some sort of protection at night when she's by herself?"

She hadn't noticed it but he had slowly creeped his way to her side and put a sneaky around around her shoulder. Without even stopping, she slapped his "wandering" hand off of her and sharply responded in perfect Japanese," I can protect myself just fine thank you. Now please leave me alone sir."

He loud out a loud raucous laugh," Oh my you do speak Japanese! Hah it's pretty good for a foreigner. Where you from?"

Starting to feel irritation boil in her veins she harshly responded," I'm not a foreigner this is my homeland. Now sir if you have any sense of honor you will back off and let me walk in peace."

This was only met with laughter as his arm returned to her shoulders now slipping down to her waist. Suddenly, he pulled her uncomfortably close to him. So close she could smell his breath which reeked of the pungent stench of alcohol. Using his other hand to grab her chin roughly forcing her to turn her head to look at him, she could see the faint rosing of his cheeks. A definite indicator of his drunken state.

Her state of agitation was raging by now as this man had the audacity to grab onto her like she was some toy. Coughing and slipping out of his "embrace" she argued in a calm voice," I don't appreciate you touching me like that. What the hell do you want? I have said Go Away more than a few times."

Once again attempting to close the distance between them he chuckled and said in a low voice," Calm yourself my pet. Aren't you lonely on this cold night? Don't you want to", he let out a contorted aroused smile," have some fun with me?"

Yumi reached her breaking point. " Get the hell away from me! No I would rather shoot myself than spend a night with you. What the hell makes you think that you can just ask some random person to sleep with you? Obviously you need another common sense lesson from your mother as you have brain of an arrogant five year old."

And that...was a mistake. Instantly, the rosing in the man's face increased blending as the rest of his race turned a shade of red. His nostrils flared as his face contorted into a dark and sinister glare.

" What the hell did you just say to me you bitch?" he growled.

Not willing to back down she stopped in her tracks as she suddenly faced him and said," I said to get away from me. Only immature foolish men would believe that sleeping with a stranger and harassing them is okay. Now please leave me alone before you get hurt."

His face only contorted more as he let out an angry laugh. He scoffed," Me get hurt? Obviously it is you who have much to learn. How dare you call me a boy."

" I will call you what I wish. Bastards like you are the worst. Arrogant. Filthy. Stupid. I can find more ways to describe the likes of you if you wish."

His thread of patience had already been stretching but at that moment it broke. He lunged at her but she nimbly stepped away. In his drunken state, he staggered and fell. Feeling especially bold and angry she let out a bought of laughter. Not caring who she would wake up, she let her loud laughter ring through the dark empty streets of Kyoto. For all to see who the hell this man was and what he did.

She was so caught up in her laughter she didn't notice him get up and lunge at her again. Unprepared she felt his hand roughly grab her wrist pulling her towards him.

" Say that again bitch? I'll teach you a fucking lesson you whore."

Roughly he got behind her and grabbed her waist attempting to slip his hands inside her dress. Thank god for the thousand buttons on this thing she thought to herself. Dressing herself and changing in Western dresses was almost like taking a nice long trip to hell.

She didn't have to time to dwell on her thoughts and she quickly threw her head back. The sharp thud of her head making skull splitting contact with his echoed through her ears. Instantly a dull sore pain spread through the back of her head as she fled. Running as fast as she could she turned into streets she didn't even know. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she ran blindly not caring where she went as long as it was away from this man.

After what seemed like hours Yumi finally stopped, chest heaving, as she struggled to catch her breathe. The cold sharp air felt like daggers going down her throat. She looked around and found a wooden box along a wall. Sighing to herself she plopped herself down and contemplated just spending the night here. She really didn't have much of a choice as there was no Inn in sight as she was just absolutely exhausted from that episode.

Still panting she looked up at the sky. The moon was so bright and full this night. It glowed with it's light reflecting on the falling cherry blossom raining down onto the streets. Beautiful.

Yumi wasn't sure how long she just sat there and it really didn't matter. No one was expecting her and she didn't have a place to stay. However, she only heard those wretched footsteps come back.

Whoever that creep was...he was back. " Come back you bitch! I know you're hiding out there!"

Groaning to herself she prepared to leave again. His voice was decently faint so there was quite some distance between them. "Glad I don't have to run" she thoughts humorously to herself. Even so there was no time to have a laugh.

Picking up her skirt she prepared to get up when suddenly she realized she couldn't. Everytime she attempted to get up, the box would rise with her. Reaching down on the back of her skirt she felt the cool metal of a nail.

" Dammit", she mentally screamed. A nail from the box snagged her skirt and it was stuck. The man's bellowing got louder and louder. If she didn't leave soon, she would be caught.

" If I just get up quickly it'll probably rip off" she thought. Rising full force and attempting to break out in a run, she heard a loud crash.

The nail was still stuck her her skirt and she had successfully managed to knock the box over. " Great just fucking great".

However, she only realized that it gave out her clear location to her pursuer. Grabbing the thick cloth of her skirt, she yanked it hearing an audible ripping of fabric that set her free to run.

She wasted no time sprinting off before she heard a loud piercing scream. It was as rancid as a metal fork being scraped across tea china and as loud as one thousand men screaming at once. Yumi froze where she stood. "What the hell was that?!" That scream sent a sharp shiver down her back that took away her breathe.

The screaming continued with words now more audible. She could hear the never ending pleas of "stop" that sounded like her pursuer's voice. There was obvious trouble.

One thing her Aunt had always scolded her for was letting her curiosity get the better of her. No matter how badly she wanted to run, she just...couldn't. Letting out a loud sigh she turned around and ran towards the screaming. Her heart started to beat so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest. Slowly the screams got louder and louder until it sounded like it was right around the corner from her. Then, it...just stopped. No more noise. Nothing.

Yumi took a few moments to catch her breath as she panted silently. Whatever had just happened was merely a few feet away from her. This was her last chance, check it out or just take the safe route and leave.

She mentally slapped herself," Why are you always so fucking reckless?! You'll probably end up hating yourself idiot."

Walking with the back of her boot hitting the ground first, she silently tiptoed around the corner she hid behind. What she saw was a gruesome narly sight.

* * *

In front of her, a bloody lump lay before her. The marred ripped up form of her ex-pursuer. There was blood everywhere; even sprayed onto the walls seven feet away. What was worse was that his head was missing. Teeth marks aligned his neck.

Yumi slowly backed up covering her mouth with a hand. "Whatever just killed this man, just b-bit his head off. Bloody hell?!"

Gruesome as it was, she couldn't take her eyes off the sight. The chunky flesh around where his decapitated head should have been was ripped and torn as blood continued to ooze into a sickening pile on the floor. In the moonlight, his spinal bone glowed as it stuck out of the neck.

She had definitely seen worse in her Aunt's medical clinic but having to imagine his head being ripped off would make most anyone a little sick to the stomach.

She had to get the hell out of there. Whoever had...no...whatever had done this was probably still around and she for sure did not want to stick around to see who had done this mess.

Turning around she was around to leave but instead bumped into something hard. Warm and hard. Looking up she realized in horror, she really didn't have much of a choice. A man with shocking white hair and zombie like white eyes stood before her. From his deformed lips, thick blood stained almost like poorly applied lipstick. He had a sickening smile on his lips and his pearly whites each had its own layer of what she assumed to be the dead man's blood. She was truly an idiot.

In the moonlight she could make out his haori colors. Pale baby blue with white triangles around the border. Somehow it looked familiar to her. Almost like someone had warned her about it.

She really didn't have time to think about haori choice as her main focus was getting the hell out of there. It was quite literally always her legs failing her when she needed them the most as she suddenly fell backward on her butt.

As that creature suddenly let out a strange strangled and hungry shriek from its lips, Yumi felt deer with a gun being pointed at its head. She felt frozen with fear. As it began to advance on her, she felt around her belt for the pistol. Relief flooded her senses when she felt the cool metal of the barrel. Wrapping her slender fingers around the grip she whipped it out and pointed at the creature.

Aiming at its ugly head she wrapped her index finger around the trigger as she was willing to do anything that kept her alive. Especially kill. Hadn't she done it many times in the past before?

Taking a deep breathe she didn't hesitate as she pulled the trigger that released a loud bang that echoed on and on in the streets. Slowly the creature's eyes looked down at her as it let out a loud strangled noise before slowly crumbling down into a heap on the ground. Yumi sat panting as her hands shook from the recoil of the shot. Sweat still dripped down the side her face as she couldn't contain the chill she felt from her ordeal.

Whatever the hell that was...it was dead and she was safe. How would she explain this mess? What would people think of the blood that stained her skirt? What was she going to do?

She heard hurried footsteps behind her and the next thing she knew she was staring into sharp green orbs.

A man with a sharp fox like face snickered at her. He had flowing green eyes that seemed to pierce right through your soul. His reddish brown hair was tied in a traditional top knot. What she noticed the most was the katana being pointed at her. She deserved a medal after going through was she had gone through.

" What do you want? The scenes over." she grumbled as she attempted to stand up. At the sudden motion the sword got trust even closer to her.

" I would suggest you don't move little birdy if you value your own life." he snickered.

Another man with long black hair tied up into a graceful ponytail and glowing purple eyes walked up beside the "fox man".

" Hijikata-san what should we do with this girl? It's quite obvious that she clearly saw the rasetsu and I'd like to say that she definitely had a part in its death." said fox man.

" Raset- what?" she thought puzzled," What the hell was he talking about?"

She heard the black haired man mumbled," Take her back to headquarters. Don't kill her just yet. We should know what happened."

Furrowing her brows she started again," Hey what are you guys up to?! I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what the hell is going on. I know you all know what I'm talking about. That monster's haori looks the same as all of yours!"

Black haired man walked away to the group of men standing behind leaving her alone with the snarky looking red head. " We're the Shinsengumi and that's all we're telling you. By the way we're placing you on arrest and in our custody. Stand up."

Yumi's blood boiled. Who the hell did they think they were? They had the nerve to tell her to go with them when they didn't even explain the situation to her. She didn't even know their names.

No. She would not go. Grabbing the pistol concealed under the skirt she did the same with the creature and pointed it at the man's head. She was pissed off enough as it is and this was absolutely the last straw within her patience and mild temper. Lady like or not, she was going to shoot him if she had too.

" I wouldn't do that if I was you either. I'm in no mood for any trouble tonight and if you just leave me the hell alone nobody's gonna get hurt tonight." she growled.

She didn't know what irritated her the most. The fact that he let out a snarky laugh. Or, the fact that he had such a relaxed stance despite having a freaking pistol aimed at his head. Maybe, it was because he still had the katana pointed at her head. It really didn't matter because just looking at this man made her angry.

" That's cute but seriously you have quite a bit to learn if you think that's going to stop a Shinsengumi member. If I didn't know any better I'd say that you're not from Kyoto." he replied coolly. His smirk never left his face.

" H-hey that's-"

She never got to finish her sentence as he used the katana to smack the silver pistol out of her hand as she miserably watched it fly across the street. She wasn't out of options though; she immediately whipped out her leg to attempt to kick him off balance but...he nimbly stepped aside.

Yumi wasn't sure what she remembered last from that night. The feeling of something hard coming in contact with her head. The yelling from the men. Or the fact that her head let out a splitting pain before enveloping in comfortable darkness. Either way, she was in deep trouble.

* * *

Okita sighed to himself. That girl had sure been a handful and she was sure not normal. Any other civilian would have cowered in fear and did as they were told. But not her.

He called back," Hijikata what should we do with her?"

" Did you finally subdue her? That took a while." he grumbled back

" That's because I was playing with her." he snickered as his green eyes glowed even more menacingly.

" I'd like to doubt that Souji. Saitou can you come here?"

Saitou walked gracefully up to the girl as he mumbled," What can I do for you Hijikata-sa?"

" Carry her back to headquarters and put her in a spare room. Make sure to tie her up and gag her."

Dutifully as ever he nodded. Seemingly without any effort he picked her up as if she weighed nothing and swung that poor girl over his shoulder like a sack of grain. Souji was just about to leave as well until he heard Hijikata yell his name again.

" What is it kaichou?"

" Collect that girl's bag and her gun as well. Take it back and keep it with you for the rest of the night. We'll deal with it tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

" _Yumi! Yumi-chan! Wait up!"_

" _I'm sorry Chizuru-chan. I-I really am. But...I can't stay here. It's just me and it's so lonely I can't stand it."_

" _B-but you have me. It's always been us...together...the two of us. We can make it through together."_

" _I'm sorry Chizuru. This time we can't. It's hard to explain but I just need to leave. I'm so sorry. Forgive me please."_

" _You said you'd never leave me though Yu-chan! I can't do make it on my on either."_

 _Yumi gently held Chizuru's hands with her own. She smiled sadly and mumbled," No you're never alone. Yes I'll be gone for a long while but if you ever look at the sky; know that I'll be looking at it too."_

 _Large drops of tears began to fall from the Chizuru's glistening eyes as her voice broke," But it won't be the same."_

" _Don't worry. I'll be back and I promise that I will. Please Chizuru just wait for me."_

" _I'm being selfish I'm sorry. It's just scary to have to imagine having to spend everyday without you. I'll miss you so much but of course. I'll always be waiting."_

Yumi slowly opened her eyes as she began to register the brightness seeping through her eyelids. Sleep was still fresh in her mind as she drowsily began to register her surroundings. To her horror, she did not know where the heck she was.

The room was plain and its wooden walls were a hazel brown color. The air smelled comfortably of tatami as sunlight streamed into the thin shoji doors. Had she found an inn last night?

She suddenly realized the fact that she couldn't move. Attempting to move an arm it came to her mind that in fact she was tied up. What is worse was that she had a gag in her mouth and couldn't even scream for help if she wanted to. She struggled against the bonds to no avail with each movement causing the rope to dig into her skin even further.

As she struggled memories of last night came flooding back and she didn't appreciate it all. First she was stalked by that creepy man who wanted to start trouble with her. Then she found his decapitated body all bloody and messy. That strange monster attacked her and to top it all off, she got kidnapped by this "Shinsengumi" group whom she didn't even know. Things were absolutely great right now!

Yumi didn't know how long she lay there. It almost felt like days. Her throat felt as dry as sandpaper and painfully stabbed in pain for water. Everything hurt right now and she was sure she looked like a real piece of work. Her hair was messy and in a complete disarray and she felt the crustiness of dried blood on her left cheek. She hated everything right now.

Through the brightness streaming from the Shoji she could make out the shadow of a human walking by. The figure stopped in front of the door and she could hear two quiet firm knocks before the door slowly slid open. Yumi's eyes followed upwards to meet those of a relatively handsome young man. He appeared to be in his early twenties and sported gentle and calm features. He looked very much different than the two she had crudely met last night.

" I'm guessing you'll want to be untied?" his voice was just as calm as his expression

Yumi could only pitifully nod as he set to work at once unbiding the torturous roped that pressed into her flesh. His cool fingers brushed against her a few times as he quickly untied the ropes around her legs and the cloth around her mouth. He held out his hand under mouth she spit the ball of cloth out from her mouth which left her mouth feeling even dryer than it did before. However, he only loosened the binding around her wrist never taking it off.

The first Yumi wanted to ask for was a drink of water but that wasn't the most pressing matter at hand. " Ah can I ask where in the world I am?"

Without even looking up from wrapping the rope into a neat rope he cooly replied," You're in the Shinsengumi headquarters. That's all I'm allowed to tell you at the moment."

She mentally smacked her forehead. _Well that was helpful cause I still don't know where I am._ An awkward silence settled between them with the only interaction being him helping her to her feet.

" Well if I can't know where exactly I am and who you guys are, would you mind at least telling me your name?" She mumbled

" Yamazaki. It's Yamazaki Susumu. Yours?"

" McCarl Yumi."

He raised an eyebrow finally making eye contact with her. " You're surname it's-"

" It's Western."

When her mother had gotten married to an English man she took upon their tradition and kept his surname. That man had happened to be her father and even after her poor mother had passed; Yumi had kept it anyway.

Yamazaki reached out for her and she automatically flinched. He quietly said," Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to look at your wrist."

Pursing her lips she nodded faintly. He walked behind her and she could feel his cool fingers rubbing the places where he rope had dug into her skin. It felt soothing as he rubbed small circles attempting to calm the scorching red marks of the rope.

" I'm sorry Okita-kun had to tie you up so tight. It looks painful but does it hurt?"

" A little bit but I'll be fine. There's not much you can do anyway."

He smiled for the first time saying," I wouldn't say that. I'm the "doctor" around here. If someone's feeling sick or get hurt it's me who takes care of it."

She smiled faintly too without even knowing why," Am sorry I misjudged. Well thank you very much "doctor" but I think I'll live."

He let out what she almost thought was chuckle before his face became serious again," Hijikata-san would like to ask you some questions in the main meeting room. We'd best be on our way."

She seriously didn't know anyone he was talking about. " Um who exactly is this Hijikata-san and Okita-kun you're talking about? Also what's the Shinsengumi?"

Leading her out the door she heard him say," He was right. You must be out of town. I'll explain to you while we walk. Just follow me."

For being the person who left her hands tied he sure seemed to trust her a lot as he never looked back once while walking. Maybe it was because she seemed calm and rational. Or maybe it was also the fact that she had nowhere to run.

" The Shinsengumi in a way in kind of a special police force and our mission is to protect the Shogun and the emperor. Right now there are groups of rebels who wish to topple the Shogunate and build their own type of rule and government. They cause trouble and we prevent and fix it."

" I see. If I remember correctly, locals don't seem very fond of you. They seem scared in fact."

" We know that. They call us the wolves Mibu and not in a good way either. To them we mean trouble. Death and trouble."

None of them said word after that and the rest of the walk was carried out in silence. But seriously it felt amazing to be outside in the shining sun. Yumi sighed as she felt her cramped and stiff legs stretch out as she walked slowly. Suddenly she felt a sinking pit in her stomach. What if this was the last time she ever saw the sun? What if this was the last time she ever walked? What if...they just killed her?

" We're here. The people who need to talk to you are just beyond this door. All you need to do is answer their questions truthfully and trust me," his voice grew low," They know if you're lying or not so I suggest you don't even think about it."

She frowned but nodded obediently. As he was about the pull the Shogi doors open she asked," H-hey Yamazaki-san, do you think they'll," she paused," kill me?"

His violet eyes softened a bit as he put a hand on her shoulder," I'm not sure but they might. Or they might not. It's up to them."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Was it common here for people to NEVER give a solid answer? Everything she had heard so far was just literally beating around the bush. Yumi didn't have time to be angry as she heard the doors sliding open to her fate.

* * *

The doors slid open to reveal a bunch...of men. She saw the two that had kidnapped her last night but the others were unknown to her. They all sat seiza style in a neat order and to be honest it was a bit overwhelming to Yumi. She just felt so small in the room that seemed to swallow her up.

" So this is the culprit? Are you serious?" the voice came from a boy who seemed to be around her age. Maybe 18 or 19? He had a youthful face, green eyes, and his long brown hair was neatly tied up.

" Excuse me Toudou-kun?"

" I mean just look at her. She looks like she could barely kill a fly. I doubt she has what it takes to kill the Rasetsu last night."

The purple haired man from last night that they called Hijikata grumbled," She had a gun. Anyone can kill with a gun."

" Oh…whoops…" he replied sheepishly rubbing his neck

An older man coughed before saying," I'm sorry about that young lady. Anyway I'm Isami Kondou commander of the Shinsengumi. Who are you?"

" McCarl Yumi."

He raised both eyebrows but nonetheless continued," I apologize on behalf of my men that we had to bring you here in the most umm...unfortunate circumstances. However we need to ask you some questions. Please answer truthfully."

She hesitated briefly before letting out a firm nod. There wasn't much she could do after all.

Hijikata interrupted," What did you see last night?"

Yumi wanted to gulp. The way that he said that sentence...he didn't want her to know what she saw. What happened last night was obviously a mistake.

" I saw nothing unusual. I'm from out of town and I was just walking late at night to find an inn. Then this creep starts following me and I just basically ran from him but he found me in the end. After that I don't even know what I saw. It's just a haze."

"Bullshit. Please tell me that you can lie better than that."

She narrowed her eyes. Those stupidly true words came from the lips of "fox man" from last night. " That's funny. I'm too stupid to lie."

Honestly he was right because she sucked at lying. Every lie that came out of her mouth was more funny than it was pitiful. But either way she was definitely stuck right now.

" Okita please shut up will you?" grumbled Hijikata before continuing," Are you sure you saw nothing? What about that man's body?"

Honestly since she had already dug herself a hole, she was going to lay in it and throw some dirt over herself. " I shot his head off clean. Pretty impressive shot if I must say so."

" So you killed him?"

" Yah I mean I seriously thought he was going to rape and kill me! What would you have done?"

Smart Yumi! Throw the question back at him!

" So what you're saying is that you didn't see anything last night? Nothing strange?"

" Well I saw a really weird cabbage in a market stall. It was the shape the a toe! Not everyday you find a freak of nature like that."

Hijikata let out a long sigh of agitation and rubbed the bridge of nose. She was gonna be tough one and his patience was waning.

He mumbled under his breathe," I told you it was a mistake to continue testing those monsters. It's just been causing us more trouble than good."

Even though it seemed like Yumi was starting to get the upper hand...something within her snapped. Were they truly the ones who had set that hideous creature free?! Did they know how many people's lives would be in danger because of their stupid choices?

She really didn't have much control as she blurted out," Wait...do the you guys were the people who set it free?! How the hell could you do that? You're not only endangering Kyoto's safety but all of Japan! What would have happened if that creature escaped?"

The red haired man smirked and snickered," See told you that was bullshit. Obviously you saw something last night," he got up and walked up close to her before his face was merely four inches away from hers," More specifically that mistake you killed."

Her blood turned cold as she whispered," What do you mean?"

" Well since you've already seen it we might as well give you an explanation on what you saw. That monster is what we call rasetsu. They were created to kill and only kill and what was supposed to be amazing was that they are hard to kill. Rasetsu can only die if they are stabbed in the heart and head or if they are impaled with something made of silver. However, they don't have control over themselves and no matter how hard Sanin-san has worked, they're still a mistake. Easy as that."

" Yet you still keep on producing them." she shook her head in disbelief. Did they seriously not care about the consequences or were they too blind to see it?

A tall slender man with round glasses spoke up," Well yes because they're close to being finished. It's a necessary weapon for the Shinsengumi and when perfected, they will make Kyoto a safer place."

This made her angry. Real angry. " A safer place? Are you sure about that? Because fine, I admit I saw it last night, and based on what happened...your rasetsu is menace to civilization! Stop messing with things you shouldn't even be dealing with because your invention is putting innocent lives at risks! Some police force you are…"

Without even being aware of it, she'd started yelling and even after she was done, the room was bathed in an eerie silence. It was Hijikata again who had to interrupt," Anyway we've really strayed from the topic at hand. It's unfortunate but you know and have seen too much. We can't let you go."

Her voice turned low just barely a whisper," So...you're going to ...kill me?"

" Yes. I'm sorry."

The younger boy yelled," But she didn't mean for this to happen! We can't possibly kill a girl!"

She let out a scoff. Why did this of all things happen to her? She was just purely in the wrong place at the wrong time last night. It wasn't her fault that all of this happened and she had to pay for their mistakes with her life. Everything just seemed awful at the moment.

Suddenly the door slid open with a loud thud. " Kondou-sama I'm sorry to interrupt but there's an emergency!" Yamazaki rushed in

Kondou frowned," What's the matter"

" Well one of our men has had intense stomach pains for the past two days and has been constantly vomiting along with having an intense fever. This is completely out of my skill level and every doctor in town cannot treat him. No one's really sure what's wrong with him."

" Who is it?"

" It's Gen-san sir."

Kondou furrowed his brows and sighed. " Men you're all dismissed. Saitou-kun please take the prisoner back to the room you put her in last night. We'll deal with her later."

" Wait!," Yumi said urgently," This man you're talking about. Is the pain he's feeling located in the mid-abdomen or right lower abdomen?"

" It was first near his belly button but it's recently moved more to the right."

She turned towards Kondou and begged," Please I think I know what's wrong with him. I can help this man. If it's what I think it is, he won't have much longer."

Kondou looked at Hijikata warrily. The real question was if they could trust her or not. Gen was one of the Shinsengumi most loyal and trusted members. They couldn't afford to lose him.

Sensing their hesitation Yumi butt in," Well if I'm going to die anyway what difference does it make to push it back an hour or two? Isn't your comrades life more important?"

Hijikata tapped his commander's shoulder. " Let's talk about this outside."

* * *

" Kondou I seriously don't think we can trust her. She's a prisoner after all."

" But Toshi...we can't let this opportunity slide. We've known Gen since almost forever and he's always been one of our loyalist men. He's done his part to sacrifice everything for us and this is what little we can do to repay him."

" I know that! However, we can't afford having her escape. If she managed to save herself she'd probably tell everyone and soon the whole town will be aware of what we're housing. The shogunate will definitely not be pleased."

Kondou looked sadly at his best friend. Of course it seemed harsh but he knew that there was good intentions behind it. If the shogunate found out they would not be forgiving and that would mean all of the men in the Shinsengumi would have to pay with possibly their lives. Putting a firm hand on Hijikata's shoulder he gently said," I'll make sure she won't escape. If there's no other doctor we can rely on then she's our only option. You can execute her afterwards but at least don't pass on this opportunity to save a friend's life."

Hijikata said nothing and merely stared at the cherry blossom trees beside them. " What do you say Toshi?"

Again there was only silence. Koundou sighed and mumbled," I'm sorry but I have to do this."

He walked back inside and announced," Saitou-kun untie her please. Give her any supplies she may need."

Starting to walk out he stopped midway and turned towards Yumi. " Please save him. We're counting on you."

His eyes held so much trust and depth. She wouldn't let him down. Yumi nodded and smiled," I'll do my absolute best to save him. True doctors will never let their patients go without a fight."

" Thank you" was all he said before the doors slid shut.

Saitou untied the ropes that bound her wrist. He had deep purple hair tied into a low side ponytail with a white ribbon. She couldn't help but stare a little. He was just really damn attractive.

With her wrists unbound she rubbed it a little relishing the feeling of freedom. " Alright umm", she stared at the remaining men in the room," Could you guys bring me to where the patient is?"

Another red haired man raised his hand and said charmingly," It'll be my honor to take a pretty girl like you anywhere you'd wish."

Wow what a real charmer we have here. The real question is if he can take me out of this godforsaken place but that's something for another day...if she had another day. Yumi blushed slightly while shaking her head. " Of course not Harada-san. Thank you."

* * *

" Genzaburou-san does it hurt over here?"

Yumi used two fingers to apply pressure down on the area to the right of his belly button briefly before removing it. Roughly around two seconds late her groaned in pain whispand ered," It feels even worse after that."

Using her gentlest voice she said," As crazy as this may sound that's a good thing. It means your adjacent peritoneum is inflamed which makes your diagnosis appendicitis."

Harada, who was standing behind Yumi asked," And that's good because?"

" That means he has a good solid chance of making it. Of course he'll need surgery to remove his appendix but that's a minor complication."

The red haired man chuckled slightly," Wow we have a Miss Smartypants over here."

The door slid open slightly to reveal a green pair of eyes. It was the boy who tried to help Yumi earlier. " H-hey is everything going to be alright with Gen-san?"

She smiled slightly and nodded," Yup he'll be fine. I'm glad we didn't wait any longer because if he was diagnosed tomorrow, he would be in real trouble."

Grinning he asked," Oh and I'm sorry but what's your name again?"

" Yumi."

" I'm Toudou Heisuke."

" Well Toudou-san it's nice to meet you."

He rubbed his neck sheepishly and mumbled," It's fine we appear to be around the same age so just call me Heisuke-kun if you'd like."

Yumi smiled sweetly before replying," Alright then Heisuke-kun you can call me Yumi-chan. I'm glad we can be so friendly with each other."

Harda coughed before putting in," Stop flirting around with the doc. She has a job to do."

A blush spread through his cheeks as he stammered," Y-yah s-sorry. Do you need anything?"

Clapping her hands together she turned serious again," Yes that would be perfect! I need a set of scalpels or medical knives, a pot of boiling water, ten clean rags, a bottle of sake, a bucket of cold water, and a form of sedative."

Heisuke and Harada looked at each other with the same confused expression plastered on their faces. " You need what?" they both mumbled.

She sighed," Can you just call over Yamazaki-san or any other person know at least who remotely has some medical experience?"

The younger boy rushed out of the room yelling what Yumi though was," Sannan-san! Sannin-san" at the top of his lungs.

Yumi candidly placed her hand over her patient's bare chest to find his erratic and frantic heartbeat. " Are you scared?"

Gen avoided eye contact with her as he muttered," A little…"

" I understand. Don't worry sir I'll do everything in my power to make you better. Trust me."

She gently grabbed his arm as he smiled at her," Oh and please call me Gen-san dear. No need to be so formal with me dear."

" You called?"

The man with the round glasses from earlier walked in silently. Her head perked up," Yes thanks for coming! Harada-san and Heisuke-kun asked me what supplies I needed for the surgery and I think," she loud a chuckle," it was a bit much for them. Could you help me ummm-"

" Sannan. Of course what can I get you?"

His voice was breathy and gentle but somehow that unnerved Yumi a little. Regardless she started the expansive list," It would be great if you could get a pot of boiling water, ten clean rags, a bucket of cold water, at least seven scalpels or medical knives, and a bottle of alcohol."

He smiled and replied," Of course. Anything else?"

" Oh yah, while you're at it would you mind dumping the the scalpels in another pot of boiling water for at least ten minutes. We want them to be as clean as possible."

Sannan nodded before walking out. Before he left though she yelled out," Sorry for the trouble but could you also get me a needle and some thread. Oh and also some anesthetic would be great! Thank you Sannan-san!"

Taking off her wool coat Yumi thought to herself," Alright! You got this! Let's make some magic."

* * *

It was roughly an hour until Sannan came back with the supplies and even with his hands heaped with tools, Heisuke and Harada each carried an armful as well. " Sorry for the delay but it was a while till I could find decent anesthetic," he laid down an ether inhaler," I've already prepared it so it's ready for use."

She clapped her hand together in delight," Thank you so much Sannan-san! This is perfect."

True to his word, everything she had asked for was set before with impeccably clean scalpels all the way to medical grade thread. All that was left to do was to actually carry out the surgery and truthfully, Yumi was a bit nervous. She had seen appendix removal go wrong several times and it was not a pretty sight at all. But still, all she could do was try.

" I'm sorry but I'm going to have to shoo you guys out. Can't have any distractions."

" Of course. Good luck Yumi-chan." mumbled Heisuke before he grabbed both men's arms and dragged them out.

Sighing to herself she kneeled beside Gen and asked," You ready?"

He let out a weak smile and nodded. Placing the the inhaler tube over his nostrils and mouth she said," Alright Gen-san I'm going to need you to inhale and exhale while you count to ten. Can you do that for me?"

" 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-"

By the ninth count the older man was completely out as his breathing slowed and his facial features relaxed themselves. It was time.

Grabbing the bottle sake, she doused her hands in the alcohol sanitizing it as much as possible. Everything needed to be clean as it could be in order to make the procedure go as smoothly as possible.

" Oh god I hope I know what I'm doing." she had failed to mention that this was only her second time removing an appendix.

* * *

Everyone sat nervously outside the room except Hijikata who was nowhere to be found. Surgeries held a big stigma here because they just...went wrong. It was rare to have an operation that went successfully and most people who needed them preferred to die rather than risking having to survive with lifetime consequences.

Sano nudged Harada and mumbled," You think everything's okay? It's been nearly three hours since she started."

His red haired friend shook his head," I'm not sure. It's been absolutely silent in there. I think we should check up on them."

Saitou who normally never spoke unless asked too said," Don't. You could just make it worse. Leave it be a while more.", he got up and called back," I suggest you all stop waiting here and find something productive to do. It'll pass the time."

Everyone nodded to themselves. It wouldn't do much good to just wait here and as everyone started to get up they heard a loud bam. The shogi doors slid open suddenly as Yumi emerged. There was blood splattered all over her clothes and cheek but even though she look exhausted, there was a bright smile on her face.

Heisuke's head perked up as he exclaimed," Did it go okay? Will Gen-san be alright?"

" The procedure was a bit complicated but he'll be just fine. He's sleeping right now so don't wake him up. Give him at least two weeks of rest and harsh physical activity is absolutely prohibited."

A cheer went through the group of men. Koundou walked up to her and did something he rarely did. He bowed to her. " Thank you," he paused," Thank you so much for saving him. I-I don't know what to say."

Yumi smiled bashfully," Y-You don't need to thank me. I only did something everyone who has the skills should do in the situation. I'm just glad everything alright."

There were sparks going on inside of her. She had just saved a life. She had done an operation without her Aunt's supervision. She had really done it. Happiness flooded her senses and it was enough to make her completely forget why she was even there in the first place.

She brought them inside the room to take a look at her handywork. Both buckets of water were diluted with blood and the handles of the silver knives could be seen protruding through the water. Bloody rags were folded neatly next to the water buckets and the red liquid seemed to have gotten all over the place. If this was any other situation, she would have felt bad for making such a mess but still...it was a surgery so what did they expect?

Gen slept quietly in a clean light green futon located in the corner of the room. The upper half of his body will still uncovered showing the stitched up incision under the left side of his bellybutton. His face was peaceful and his chest rose up and down following the pace of normal breathing. No longer was his skin the sickening pale color before but now had returned to its normal hue. Everything seemed fine. Koundou grinned at the success in amazement at the results. Of course, Gen's health would have to be determined after the next two weeks but so far so good.

" Just wait till Toshi hears about this!", suddenly his face fell.

Yumi's turned grim as well as she cursed silently to herself. She was probably still going to die regardless. Maybe she could milk the fact that she saved their friend's life but even still, chances seemed grim.

" Until I hear about what?" a gruff voiced asked

Hijikata was walking up towards them with a stoic cold face plastered to him. It immediately set the jovial mood cold. Everyone knew what was going to happen and it was inevitable.

Yumi got on her knees and begged," Pl-please I know what you're going to say next. I did nothing wrong. I'm begging you...let me live. God I hate to use this but I saved your friend's life and the least you can do is save mine."

She hated what she was doing right now and she felt completely at his mercy. Technically she was but still, it was not a pleasant feeling. But she had to do something right?

Hijikata looked down and mumbled," I'm so sorry and you have no idea how hard this is. You just have too much information. Keep in mind that what Souji has told you wasn't supposed to leave his lips and he's already been punished. However, you just can't leave after everything you've seen."

Her heart nearly stopped beating as her blood chilled. Her stomach sunk and she started to feel sick. She really was going to die.

" If she can't leave, then she can stay."

Yamazaki looked at Hijikata with his cool green eyes. Hijikata raised in eyebrow questiongly," Pardon me Yamazaki-kun?"

He cleared his throat before explaining," She can stay here and be our official doctor. You've seen what she's capable of doing and her skill. More and more men are going to get hurt in the future and it wouldn't hurt to have a doctor in headquarters to provide immediate care."

Everyone stood slightly shocked. Yamazaki, like Saitou, was not a man to speak up against his superiors. He was a docile and respectable man who pretty much went with whatever Hijikata said.

Hijikata sensed this and sighed thinking to himself," In the entire time I've ever known him, I've never ever heard him speak against me," shaking his head in defeat," Maybe he has a point."

" Fine" he grumbled," She can stay but if she ever tries to run-"

" We'll kill her" snickered Okita as he sauntered in the room.

Yumi glared slightly at him as he said," Thanks to Yumi-chan I'm only cleaning duty for a whole month-."

She cut him off," Sorry Okita-san but I never recalled saying you could refer to me by my first name and chan."

What he did next only heightened her irritation. He patted her head like she was a dog saying," Mah mah being so cold to me. How cute."

" Don't call me cute bast-" she stopped herself. Despite her reckless personality she wouldn't allow herself to ruin the chance of her survival.

Hijikata glared at Okita," Souji you brought this upon yourself. Maybe if you could shut your mouth up better, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Souji only grinned as his sharp emerald eyes twinkled. Hijikata sighed in exasperation as he grumbled," You'll have to stay here with us. We won't harm you but you cannot leave the compound as a precaution. Are you willing to sacrifice your freedom for your life?"

" I'll take it."

Yup, Yumi was sure desperate to live. So maybe she could see Chizuru one day. And also Annita before she died.

* * *

Chizuru had just returned from the market with a basket full of vegetables and fruit. She had basically spent the whole day in the market and she was so exhausted. For the past two days Gen-san had been feeling absolutely horrible in his stomach so she wanted to make some medical soup to ease the pain. However, each produce stall she went to always seemed to not have the special plant root she needed. One farmer said he'd take his mule back to his farm to get it for her but after waiting for around two hours he never came back. Sadly, she had to come back empty handed only to find that out that the compound was empty?

" Yukimura-kun you're back!" yelled Itashi, one of the men from Harada's squad.

" Yup! How's Gen-san feeling? Oh dear, I hope it didn't get worse."

" Nope! It's quite the opposite! This doctor operated on him and removed something from his body and now apparently he's fine."

She smiled in surprize," Really?! That's amazing! Is she still here? I'd like to thank her."

Itashi nodded and pointed to the compound's "sick room" which held injured or ill Shinsengumi men. " I think she's a westerner though."

" She?"

" Yah it's surprising but she's a woman. Not bad looking at all. Last name is a bit strange though. McCarl I think?"

Chizuru almost dropped the basket as her heart nearly stopped. Was there a chance that it could-maybe be her? It's been years but still…

Before Itashi could ask her what was wrong she shoved the basket in his arms while apologizing," Sorry but could you take this to the kitchen? Thank you!" and dashing off.

The poor man stared in confusion towards her as she ran off and then at the basket of vegetables. "Huh?"

* * *

Thank you so much everyone for getting through this long chapter! Sorry for the cliffhanger but I'll have the next chapter out soon! Hint hint: Chizuru will be reuniting with long lost Yumi! If you'd like to see more of this fanfic don't forget to follow and it would be amazing if you could leave a review so I could improve. Love you guys so much! If there's anything you'd like to suggest please tell me so I can make this story as enjoyable as I an for y'all!


	3. Chapter 3

Chizuru was out of breathe by the time she reached the sick room. Without even stopping to catch her breathe she slid the doors open with unintentional force.

" Ah Chizuru-chan perfect timing! Guess what happen-?" Heisuke started

" Yumi-chan!"

Yumi, who was kneeling beside Gen turned around sharply upon hearing her name. Her chocolate eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped. She could hear her heartbeat start to pound against her ribs. _Was it really her?_

Chizuru also stared back at her equally frozen as well. How long had it been? Two years? Five? No seven years since she had seen those beautiful blue eyes. Tears started to well up in her eyes but she couldn't will herself to move.

Reaching out her hands, Yumi was the first to snap out of her state of shock as she cupped the sides of her dear friend's face. " C-Chizuru-chan is that you?"

Still unable to speak the brown eyed girl could only nod as tears began to freely flow down her soft cheeks. Yumi leaned closer and embraced the other as tight as she could as Chizuru began to sob. "Y-y-you finally ca-came back. I-I knew y-y-you would."

Tighetning her embrace she whispered," Of course I did. I made a promise didn't I?"

" I missed you so much Yumi. I looked up at the sky everyday and I hoped that you'd be able to somehow see me."

" I did too. You don't even know how much I missed you too. Everyday I would constantly think about you and I always longed to come back to see you."

Happiness and guilt flowed through both of the girl's veins as they hugged each other like they would be sucked away if they didn't. Seven years of not being able to talk. Seven years of not being able to embrace. Seven years without being able to see one another. It had been unbearable and all the fear they felt was all over.

Meanwhile everyone else stared at the pair in confusion. They were all thinking the same thing _What the heck is going on?_.

" What do you think is going on?" whispered Shinpachi as he nudged Harada.

The red hair shrugged seeming equally confused as his friend was. Finally Yumi slowly let go of the still crying Chizuru and they both said…

" Sorry we'll explain…"

* * *

" Damn so you two have been separated for seven years?!" Heisuke exclaimed

Yumi nodded sadly," During that time I didn't know wether Chizuru was still alive or where she was at all. It was really uncertain but the thought of returning to Japan was always fresh in my mind."

They had decided to discuss this over dinner and had relocated to the dining room. Everyone sat in silence as they listened to the two girls explain their stories and how fate had brought them together again.

With food in his mouth Shinpachi asked," Why didn't you come back sooner then?"

" Right when I got to America my Aunt enrolled me in school so I could get an education. She wanted me to become a doctor because since she was very young, my mother wanted to become one but due to her circumstances; she could not. That became my goal so I could make my mother's spirit rest easy and I wanted to complete that before I came back."

Chizuru continued," We've known eachother since we were at least four. It was basically friendship after first sight. Yumi was playing in her yard when she got bitten by a *mamushi and her mother rushed her to my father's clinic. She stayed in our house for around two weeks so father could observe her recovery and that's how we became friends. The best part was that she was my next door neighbor so after she got better, we continued to see eachother everyday."

Yumi's crystal blue eyes shined recalling fond memories," My mother worked in a friend's restaurant which was almost two towns away so she was gone for pretty much the whole day everyday except for special holidays. While she was working, I stayed with Chizuru and her father to help around the clinic so I could earn some extra money."

" Oh! And remember how we would sometimes sneak off into the woods and pick flowers?"

" And then we'd string them together into a little crown for Yamashiro-san's old dog while complaining about the tailor's daughter."

Chizuru laughed softly," Yes I remember Ayane! I generally like everyone but she was a bit of a different story. Always bragging that she had two hundred hairpins because of her rich daddy."

" The nerve of her while our parents had to work hard to keep us fed."

The two of them talked away as they forgot that they weren't the only ones in the room. It was like old times where the two of them could chat about anything and could even spend hours gossiping about the latest news in town. That was such a peaceful and pleasant time.

Kondou playfully gave a grumpy Hijikata a punch," Come on Toshi brighten up! Today's the night we have a new comrade and…," smirking at his friend whispered," Aren't you glad that Chizuru-chan's so happy? I haven't seen her smile this much recently and I think she needs a friend she can really trust."

Hijikata glared at him but then eyed the pair chatting away before mumbling that he needed some fresh air. "It's true" he thought to himself as he walked out. The past few months, Chizuru had been a bit down. Upon finding out what her father's true malicious intentions were, she had trouble accepting it. When no one was talking to her she'd often times sadly stare off into space. It just made her really distant.

The door opened gently as Chizuru slipped out. " Hijikata-san" she said in her cheerful voice," we're going to toast Yumi-chan. Will you be joining us?"

He let out a small smile at her," Give me a moment."

" Hai."

As he heard the doors slide shut he sighed to himself. That's what he really wanted. For Chizuru to be happy. Maybe having Yumi aboard wouldn't be so bad. Of course, he didn't trust her quite yet but as long as he kept his eye on her...maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Kondou sighed as he looked at the room roster. For the past few months he had been trying to find places to relocate headquarters because of one main issue; they were running out of space to house his men.

Pinching his nose he said," I'm sorry Yumi please bear with me but we don't have any more free rooms as of now. Would you mind sharing?"

" Of course not! Do you know who'd I be sharing with by any chance?"

For the past two months Yumi had wandered all over Japan desperately and blindly trying to find Chizuru and honestly she could sleep anywhere. She had slept in fields, on top of trees, horse stalls, on the ground, and even more places she didn't want to talk about. If you were to give her the chance, she could even try falling asleep standing up.

The older man smiled and said," I'd place you with Chizuru since you two are both female however, I'll be putting you with Yamazaki-kun. Since you two will be working together very often I need you both in the same proximity. Just in case some emergency happens, we can't afford to have the two of you scrambling around trying to find each other. "

Slightly disappointed she nodded regardless and replied," Of course I understand. Thank you so much."

" You can get settled in now if you wish. I'll have Heisuke show you the way. Please wait here."

As Kondou began to walk away, Yumi suddenly felt as if she was missing something. Something very important…

" Koundou-sama do you know if by any chance my bag was taken as well?"

" Is it made out of leather with a golden bird on it?"

" Yes!"

" I think it was put in a storage room. Don't worry I'll go get it. Be back soon."

Kanna let out a sigh of relief. If it was still out of the streets, no doubt would have been stolen already along with the precious contents it held. Kanna's thoughts shifted back to the idea of sharing a room with Yamazaki.

She had only met him this morning and basically knew nothing about him. He seemed like a respectable and calm man but still, he was a stranger to her. Nonetheless, he had pretty much saved her life as he was the one who suggested she stay. Of course she had her qualms about helping the people who were ready to kill her without any second thoughts, but, if they treated Chizuru right...everything was maybe alright.

" Hopefully sharing rooms will let me get to know him a bit better. It would be amazing if we could have a good relationship with each other so communication will be easier." she thought to herself.

She had seen many things go wrong in the hospital because doctors, nurses, etc couldn't communicate properly. Most of the time when that happened in her family's clinic, Yumi wanted to smack her forehead because they could make the simplest procedures go wrong.

She was taken out of thoughts when she heard," Sorry for the wait. You ready?"

Heisuke leaned casually against the wall with her bag dangling from his arm. The beat up leather seemed to reflect the pearlescent glow of the moonlight. " This is yours I'm assuming,?" he said as he handed her the bag," Do you want me to carry it? It's pretty heavy…"

" Thanks Heisuke-kun but I'll fine. Hey can you tell me a bit about Yamazaki?"

The time is took to get to her shared room was relatively short but he managed to to squeeze as much as he could. Even though, it was still very vague and she felt like they didn't leave square one at all.

Heisuke had told her that he wasn't one of the original members and that he joined via recruitment. Yamazaki's swordsmanship skills wasn't very advanced but it was enough to defend himself and he had decent medical knowledge. Apparently on the most side, he was calm and stoic which was basically what she learned upon meeting him. And finally, he didn't...drink...at all which was a bit of a relief, since one of Yumi's biggest fears was drunk people.

They finally stopped in front of a room and through the thin shogi doors she could see the soft glow of a flickering candle. Heisuke softly rapped against the door and yelled," Yamazaki-kun can I come in?"

The pair heard a muffled Hai come from within and he slowly slide open the doors. Yumi was greeted with the scent of a fresh sandalwood and herbal medicine and the air inside was clear and cool. On one side of the room the calm faced man kneeled writing at a small desk. The single candle on his desk created a halo like glow around him and made his eyes look almost golden as his turned slightly to greet them.

" Can I help you two?" he said in his gentle yet firm voice

Heisuke nudged Yumi's side and She stammered," I-I hope i-it's not too much of a bo-bother but since there are no more spare rooms left over, is it okay if I share with you?"

One of his eyebrows quirked up but he merely shook his head," No why would it be? Does Kondou know about this?"

She nodded her head and explained," He was the one who told me to room with you because he thought that we could get to know eachother better and it would be more convenient if there's a sudden emergency."

" I see. Aren't a bit nervous to be," he hesitated a bit," to be sharing a living space with a man?"

Yumi rubbed her neck a bit as a blush crawled on her face," Ah not at all! I'm quite familiar with men."

Suddenly she realized how strange that may have sounded to her roomate as she quickly corrected herself," N-Not in that way! I just uh- I uh-"

He let out what she guessed was a chuckle as he said," I know what you mean. Well in that case, as long as you don't mind, I'd be more than happy to share with you McCarl-"

" Call me Yumi-chan if you'd like. No need to be so formal."

" Alright then. I'd be more than happy to share with you Yumi-chan."

Heisuke coughed slightly reminding the two that he was still indeed in the room. " I'll let you get settled in then. Have a good night Yumi."

" You too Heisuke-kun! Thanks for taking me."

Before he left Yamazaki called out," Could you ask Chizuru to bring some clothes and bedding for her while you're at it?"

* * *

Yumi's side of the room was pretty much empty except for a small desk with a small candle, which was identical to the one on his side of the room. Reaching for her bag she started to get herself situated. She pulled out two gigantic books and set them on top of eachother upon the wooden desk. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and *Treatise on the Prevention & Cure of Diseases by William Buchan. Both were gifted to her by her cousin before she left America.

She also pulled out a large notebook and two fountain pens setting them neatly beside each other. Her goal was one day being able to fill the entire notebook out with gained medical knowledge and experience but still that day seemed very distant.

A lit oil lamp was placed on her desk. " Ask me if you need any other candles since I have a whole bunch over in a box. It can get pretty dark in here without it."

" Ah thank you I sure will."

Soon the whole room was bathed in a warm comforting glow. Then a soft barely audible rapping about be heard against the doors. Chizuru walked in carrying a bundle of what looked like cloth.

" I've brought a futon for you and enough clothes that should last you a week.", she laid them out on the ground," While you'll be staying with us, Hijikata has requested that you wear men's clothing so you won't be too-"

" Distracting" Yumi answered

" Yes. It's just also easier to move around it and it's more comfortable too. Do you mind too much?"

Yumi smiled at the brown haired girl," Of course not. Thank you so much! Do you want to talk a little bit more outside?"

The moonlight bathed the entire courtyard with its light. Cold air cut right through the two lungs as they sat over the hallway ledge.

" Chizuru I never got the chance to ask you how you even got here."

" It's a bit strange but it's really similar to how you got here. As you said before, I went looking for Father and I somehow ended up in Kyoto. Then I got attacked by the Rasetsu and basically I was also taken as a prisoner."

" So am I a prisoner then?"

Chizuru scrunched her face up a little before lowering her voice," I don't want to sugar coat it for you but...yes. You are a prisoner here. Hijikata didn't trust me when I first got here but over the next few months, they let me go out on patrol rounds with them. Now I'm aloud to go shopping but still, I can't go home."

" And you trust these people?" Yumi asked puzzled

" Ironically, I do. These men are good people. Their hearts would be made of gold if that actually existed. They treat me very well and have always protected me. Even if they let me go, I wouldn't leave. However, I could try to persuade Hijikata to let you go if you wish."

Frowning, the Yumi put an arm around her closest friend," No that's not nessacary. I promised that I would never leave again when I got back. I'm keeping my promise to the end."

Chizuru, leaning her head onto the other's shoulder, whispered," These cherry blossom trees will die one day, that I know. But I also know that we are forever."

" Yes...yes we are."

* * *

It was a relatively short chapter so y'all could have a break from the past two chapters. I wanted this chapter to be more touching and cute because honestly I know what it feels like to meet up with a friend that you haven't seen in like forever. Please leave a review if you can and follow the story! Love you guys so much!

*Mamushi- a venomous snake found within Japan in marshes, woodlands, meadows, etc...

*Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases is an English medical book written in the 1800's


	4. Chapter 4

Yumi walked slowly next to Gen with her arm wrapped around his. It had been early three weeks since the surgery and he was making very slow physical progress. His health was fine but he still struggled to move on his on. It took nearly a two weeks for him to be able to dress himself.

Hoping to be able to get his body used to more strenuous activity, she had him walk around the courtyard at least three times a day or even more if he was up for it. Of course she had to hold him steady just in cause he fell but he was making better progress than he was just laying down.

" How are you feeling Gen-san? Are tired yet?" she asked

" No dear on the contrary I feel more energized than I did this morning. I think I'll do another lap if you don't mind."

Yumi hurriedly wrote on her notebook. She had been documenting his progress ever since the operation; something she saw other doctors do as well. While it was embarrassing to admit, she was super proud of herself. This was the first time she had ever done something this complicated without any supervision. Sure, she had performed operations before, but, there was always some other medical professional in the room carefully watching her. They didn't trust her. But if she were them; she wouldn't either.

As Gen walked another slow lap around the courtyard, Yumi sad down on the stone steps and pulled out Great Expectations. It was one of her favorite books and she had probably read it around thirteen times. The reason why it meant so much to her was because this book was the first book she could ever read by herself in English. Yumi basically didn't have any time to rest once she got to Britain, as her Aunt Telula rigorously began forcing as much education as she could down her throat.

Math went easy for her because all you had to do was memorize the numbers and formulas. If you did it correctly you got a fixed answer and everything was black and white. She loved math so much. It gave her exhilaration everytime should could compute an equation correctly in her head. However, English and medicine was the opposite as there was no solid answer and when you thought you were right...you were wrong. And when you thought you were wrong...you were _sometimes_ right. _Only sometimes..._

Overall, it took almost three years to kick her accent and she struggled the most with remembering to pronounce "r" vowels without using "L vowels". Basically, if she ever said _right_ it came as _light_. _Wrong_ was said _wrong_ and _rabbit_ was _labbit_. When she said it, all her R's became L's but that was just purely how Japanese worked. It was hard to get used too. Her English wasn't perfect yet but it was as good as it could be.

" Mah mah shouldn't you be paying attention the patient?"

Okita sauntered over with his trademark fox smirk. Yumi fought the urge to glare him and shot back a nonchalant smile. " Gen-san is making immense progress so I think he should be fine with light exercise. If anything's wrong I know he'll give me a holler."

Returning her eyes back on the words in front of her she tried to shift her focus away from the man that made her vein want to pop, and onto the "fine literature" she was holding. Suddenly the words became a blur as she realized that he grabbed the book from her hands.

" Okita-san what are you doing?!"

He looked puzzled as he flipped it over attempting to read the bold golden text on the dark forest green cover. " You're reading gibberish?"

" Give that back Okita!"

Yumi attempted to grab the book back to no avail as he held it high in the air. She even tried jumping to reach the height of where her poor book was being carelessly dangled.

His face held no emotion other than pure amusement as his eyes shined with an evil sheen. _A sadist. He's a bloody sadist._

" You enjoy seeing me struggle don't you?" she muttered obviously annoyed

A sharp chuckle escaped from his throat as his eyes started to shine more maliciously," My dear it took you long enough to figure that out. And I thought you were pretty smart for girl."

" Excuse me sir but I'm 100% sure that being female doesn't limit my ability and that experience and knowledge outranks gender."

She heard another chuckle which made her ball her fists up. Her short temper was reaching its last straw. Suddenly she felt a tap on her head and sure enough Okita had placed the book on top of her head. " Watching you struggle and get angry is always amusing but I've had enough for today."

He walked off leaving the book still balanced on top of Yumi's head. _At least posture lessons paid off?_ " Oh and remember McCarl, a girl with a temper better watch herself or trouble is sure to follow you."

Okita sauntered off the same way he had approached her leaving the poor girl flabbergasted. " Who the bloody hell does he think he is?" she muttered angrily to herself," Besides I don't even need a temper to have trouble crush on me. It just comes no matter where I am and what I bloody do."

* * *

Chizuru and Yumi sat on the steps in the warm afternoon sun with a stack of mandarins between them. They had chatted for nearly two hours while snacking and the sharp nostalgic smell of fresh citrus hung in the air. Both girl's fingers, sticky from mandarin juice, also smelled strongly of the fruit as the scent seemed to envelope them. They did this too when they were younger. Chat and eat whatever fruit was in season. But they personally always preferred mandarins.

" It's not that he doesn't like you. Okita-san is just like that. Don't get me wrong he's a good and honorable man but he just likes his fun ,too."

Yumi frowned slightly and mumbled," So a good man always threatens to kill you eh?"

The brown haired girl blushed and shook her head," T-That's not what I mean Yu-chan. He doesn't do it to everyone. He just-"

" Does it cute girls" a deeper voice finished.

Both girls looked up to find the red haired Harada grinning at them. " Harada-san h-how l-long were you listening to us?!" Chizuru stammered.

The grin turned into a smirk as he nonchalantly replied," Long enough Yukimura."

Both girls turned towards each other; a wave of embarrassment and shame surrounding them. They were gossiping. And they had been found out.

" Sorry about that Harada-san. We didn't mean to-" Yumi was cut off.

He shook his head," No need to be. I understand," he knelt down," Souji can sometimes be a bit crude but he has good intentions. Only teasing you two cause he likes you guys. That's all. It's his way of showing endearment."

The blue eyed girl pursed her lips together and nodded as a specific name floated through her mind _Thomas…_ She fought the urge to roll her eyeballs at the thought of that idiot's name. The only cousin she hated. That son of a -

" Yumi? You there?"

Chizuru tapped her shoulder gently. " Huh? I'm sorry I was thinking of something. You were saying?"

" Harada said exactly what was on my mind. Don't worry about it. It's just his way of showing his friendship."

" I see I see."

" Feel better about it now?"

Yumi's crystal sapphire eyes twinkled as she popped a mandarin piece into her mouth as she nodded. The small plump buds of juice burst in her mouth as the sharp sweet acidic taste bloomed on her tongue. Acidic yet sweet. Much like a certain someone.

* * *

This chapter was meant as a filler chapter ( a little glimpse into their lives...something a bit more cutesy and fun) so it was relatively short. Hope you guys liked it nonetheless and please leave a review if you can! Love you guys! Next chapter will be up and running soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone thanks for reading this far! This chapter was a bit hard to write because I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go with it but TA-DA IT'S HERE! Hijikata and Yumi get real here and this one is again, another filler chapter. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave a review if you can my dears! 3

* * *

Yumi was determined. Very determined. She hadn't been able to leave the compound for almost a whole two months and to be honest, it was driving her crazy. All she wanted to do was _go outside_.

Chizuru tailed after Hijikata to avail. " Please Hijikata-san she's harmless. She won't tell anyone! All Yumi-chan wants to do is just go outside."

Still walking the older man rubbed the bridge of his nose as he grumbled," We can't risk it. Remember Yukimura, she's a prisoner."

" Then am I one too?" Chizuru blushed immediately after realizing she may have been to bold

He stopped in his tracks as a slow sinking feeling stabbed his stomach. She had a point. " Of course not. You're one of us now." he said, his tone softening.

His neutral response prompted her to continue to press on," When Yumi didn't even know Gen, she decided to help save him even though she knew she would be killed. In the past two months that she's been here, she's tended to so many of our men and saved quite a few lives. We…," she paused closing her eyes," We owe her. She's a good person and she's already quite loyal to the Shinsengumi. Once she's committed, she never strays."

" Chizuru-"

" Please Hijikata-san. She'll probably go mad if she can't walk around outside-"

" Chizuru. I need to be alone for a little bit."

Her chocolate brown eyes watched on in despair as she saw the captain's back walk off. She failed Yumi.

Never once had Yumi complained about being holed up in headquarters and everytime she had asked her about it, all girl did was smile and say "I'm fine don't worry about me."

But Chizuru saw it in her heart. Everytime she left to go on patrol with the men, she could feel Yumi's wistful gaze on her back. She wasn't a girl who liked to be kept in one space for too long and even just staying in the old clinic could make her ansty. This must be agonizing for her.

" Hijikata-san must think that Yumi wanted me to ask him but she really hasn't complained about it or even said a word. I'm just concerned about her." she thought sadly to herself.

But just because some things were out of her control didn't mean she would give up

For the past few hours she had sat against the wall of her room and read the same line over and over again. "Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be". She probably had what old wives would call "cabin fever". Sometimes she would feel so blue and sad that she just wanted to cry. Then the next second she would feel so irritated and angry enough to go yell at a random person.

" May I come in?" a gruff voice called from outside the door.

She sighed to herself and closed her book as she called out," Of course."

Hijikata stood at the outside of her door with his arms gracefully crossed. His usual stern scowl seemed a little bit worse as he looked straight at her. Not expecting it to be him, she was still sitting sprawled against the wall and she scrambled to get up. Doing her best to smooth her clothing she asked," Can I help you with something sir? Why don't you come in and have a seat?"

He shook his head as he said," No need to. I came here to ask you some questions. It'll only take a few minutes."

" Ask away then."

Walking into the room a little, he leaned against the door. " Chizuru came up to me to ask if you could leave the premises. She said she thinks you feel trapped and ansty here. Is that true?"

Her sapphire eyes widened slightly. She had taken care to never mention anything to Chizuru about her qualms of being kept as a "prisoner". If Chizuru heard this, she would have been worried sick. But somehow, she knew.

" Ah it's-"

" Tell me the truth. You won't be in trouble."

" In that case, then yes. Not being able to leave makes me a feel a bit ummm how do I say it-"

" Trapped?"

She nodded slightly," Yes. That's the word. I just don't like being in one space for too long and even though the headquarters is a pretty big area, I'd like to have some contact with humans other than those in the Shinsengumi."

" That's reasonable but you do understand why you can't don't you?"

Yumi fought the urge to roll her eyes like a child did when being scolded at by their mother. But all she did was weakly say," Yes…"

" We've worked too much to have a risk of messing things up for the Shinsengumi and the men who worked on the ochimizu. If anyone finds out we'll have an unpleasant Shogunate on our backs and most likely Kondou-san will have to pay dearly."

She quirked her left eyebrow slightly in a questioning way," What do you mean by pay?"

His deep purple eyes darkened as his voice grew to almost a whisper," With his life."

" His life?" She said as her voice grew increasingly alarmed. _They'd kill him?_

" They'll force him to commit seppuku* and not only will it be him. They'd probably also force all the captains to do so as well. The Shogunate and emperor do not take kindly to massive mistakes like this."

Her mind struggled to process what she had just heard. No wonder Okita and Hijikata had been so intent on killing her. She could be the one person who ruined everything. Suddenly she felt guilt burrowing in her stomach. _If I don't keep my damn mouth shut, people could die._

" I-I didn't know that sir. I-"

" You were probably thinking that we're a bunch of sadists who don't give a crap on human life didn't you?"

She shook her head as shame also decided to mix with the guilt she was feeling, " Of course not!"

" You don't have to lie McCarl. If I was you I'd be thinking the same thing."

Suddenly Yumi felt awkward. He sounded almost apologetic and that was lowkey freaking her out a little. Hijikata-san never apologized to anyone except Chizuru and his superiors. And now here he was seeming almost like he was trying to explain his actions. "What the heck happened between him and Chizuru" she thought confused to herself.

He coughed slightly and spoke again in his normal voice," Other than that, Chizuru had mentioned to me in the past that you're a sufficient swordswoman."

" Well, I'm not sure about that but I did go to the local dojo with her when we were younger. I spent more time training there and continued long after she stopped because I enjoyed it. Dear Chizuru was never a fan of weapons and violence." a blush spreading through her face at the praise Chizuru had given her

" Do you still think you can you protect yourself then?"

Rubbing her neck she slowly said," It's been awhile but yes I think I definitely can."

He slowly started to leave the room while saying," That's all I need to know. Saitou's waiting in the courtyard for you. If he thinks you're capable of defending yourself, then you'll be allowed to join patrols with Chizuru and the other Captains. Understood?

Her face light up as she saw her chance. He was giving her a chance! " Thank you sir! I promise you will not regret his."

Before he slid the door shut," Don't thank me yet. Saitou has to approve you before anything can happen."

And with the shogi closed with a loud thud leaving Yumi still grinning like a fool. There was hope.


	6. Chapter 6

This was one of the harder chapters to write because of the major fight scene. I wanted to drag it on for as long as I could without making it become dull. There will be future fight scenes and I would love it if you guys could tell me what to improve on so I could make it better! Slowly, I'm trying to change my writing style to make it more interesting but often times I feel like I don't do a good enough job for you guys. But thanks for getting this far and I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review if you can 3

* * *

Saitou stood in the courtyard gazing at cherry blossom trees. In a few week they would be gone. _The most precious things are the ones that are the most beautiful but leave so suddenly._ But what did he find precious? Was it the way of the sword? The Shinsengumi? He'd leave a mental note to remember that as his kakizome* for the New Years.

" Saitou-san! Sorry for being late!"

Yumi's light brown hair was tied up and her deep ocean eyes twinkled with delight. There was an air of enthusiasm and excitement that seemed to surround her. " Hijikata-san told me that you'd evaluate my swordsman skills."

The stoic man nodded silently and handed her the katana he had been holding in his right hand. " You'll be using this sword and if you pass, it'll be yours to keep. Now how many years has it been since you've last held a blade?" he asked in as a little words as possible. He was a man of few words.

She thought for a little but nonetheless replied," I think maybe around six years."

" Six? I thought you were gone for eight?"

Her delicate lips twisted into a sad smile," My mother spent a long time saving up to get me a katana. She saved for years so I could finally have one of my very own instead of borrowing the local dojo's beat up swords. I just couldn't leave behind so I took with me. The first two years and such I practiced regularly still but afterwards I-I just stopped."

" I see then. The only part of the evaluation is that you have to spar with me. If I think you're capable enough, you'll pass. Understand?"

She nodded before inspecting blade," Will we be using the blades turned in the right way? I-I don't want to hurt y-"

Saitou almost wanted to let out a chuckle at the absurd statement," You won't hurt me. Are you sure you're not just scared?"

The blue eyed girl felt her face grow hot. _Does he take me for some sort of wuss?_ She narrowed her eyes and smirked shooting back," Scared? That's a funny joke. Fine, if you're alright with it let's fight with the blade turned in the right way."

" Yumi-chan!"

Chizuru had sat herself down on the courtyard steps while the two had been talking and now waved at them. " Hijikata-san told me what's happening and I'm here to cheer you on! You got this!"

" And she brought us along too!"

Heisuke, Harada, and Shinpachi also sat themselves down next to Chizuru. Each one of them shot Yumi a wide grin as they all said in unison," We believe in you!"

Yumi felt a warmth unlike any other spread through her heart and stomach as she smiled happily back at them. It had been a while since she felt like that. She felt like she had friends. Friends that believed in her. She may have been a prisoner but she had to admit that the rest of the men in the Shinsengumi were friendly and kind people.

Turning back to Saitou she put on her game smirk," Challenge accepted."

* * *

" You may take the first move."

Yumi and Saitou had stood apart from each other in ready stance for what seemed like hours. She couldn't figure out what strategy she wanted to take or even if she wanted to take one at all. _Maybe I can just free-for-all this and see what happens._ And it seemed like that would have to be the choice she took because her opponent and "crowd" appeared to be getting impatient.

" I have to act now!" she thought firmly to herself despite her racing heart

Taking a deep breathe she steadied herself and braced her heart. She was going to have to do this. Holding her sword above her in the traditional ready stance, she lunged at him and brought her blade down upon Saitou's head. However, he quickly blocked her; the force of the impact pushing her back. Stumbling she found her footing and quickly went at it again this time trying to go with a side swing aiming for his waist. Again, he blocked her swiftly again.

She kept at this for awhile, her attempting to make swings at him and him just blocking them like it was child's play. She started to grow irritated. _Nothing's working and I haven't even made a little progress._ Suddenly, she got an idea.

Again, she lunged at him but instead of trying to avoid his blade and directly aim for him, she purposely made contact with his sword. However, she used more force than she had previously hoping that the impact would shake hima little. Based on the brief look of surprize that flashed on his face, it worked a little.

Yumi and Saitou then proceeded to strike one another and block each other's blows. It seemed like things weren't getting anywhere but she was purposely ambling with him wear him out.

Chizuru watched on with intense concentration. She bit her lip. At first the match seemed to be on Saitou's favor but now it had shifted where it was neutral between him and Yumi. Things were almost at standstill. But still they were going at it.

Heisuke poked her a little breaking her concentration," You think she's gonna make it? It's been a while already and she hasn't advanced at all."

She whispered," I think she has a shot. When we took lessons at the dojo together, she was always top of the class. Sparring sessions with her tended to be long because she would tire her opponent out. I think that's what she's doing but we'll see what happens."

* * *

Beads of sweat started to break out on the purple haired man's forehead. Saitou wasn't ready for this. He thought she would be an easier match and their "fight" would end quickly. Somehow she managed to last through it and drag it on for a while already. And frankly as much as he hated to admit it, he was losing stamina. In other words, he was starting to get tired.

If he was to win, he'd need to finish things as soon as possible before his energy left him completely. That was one of the problems he had. His first blows were always the strikes that granted him victory and his opponents death. But, when things went on for too long, it revealed his weakness; his lack of good stamina. Because, he always started strongly, his energy would give way quickly which meant he had to kill quick.

" How long do intend to go at me with this child's play?" he asked in between pants and grunts.

Struggling to respond Yumi panted," You know, I'm not really sure", adding in a smirk she snickered," As long as this goes on for. Getting tired sir?"

Saitou narrowed his eyes slightly, attempting to strike her side, responding stoically," You underestimate don't you?"

Blocking his blow more gracefully than before she said in a sing song voice," Not really. I can just tell when someone's tired. It's pretty obvious."

Throughout the sparring match, she had slowly gained more confidence and now her movements were more fluid and strong than the beginning. Now she was starting to enjoy fighting again.

Taking a quick glance at Chizuru she beamed a grin at her. She was finally starting to get the upper hand. Her best friend nodded encouragingly but suddenly…

She felt a strong impact her her wrist and her katana flew from her hands

* * *

Hijikata stood alongside Kondou watching the match. Saitou was to report to him as soon as he was done however, it was taking the loyal man much longer than expected. Out of curiosity both of the high ranked men wanted to find out what was keeping the skilled swordsman from beating the new doctor.

Sweat was flying between the pair as they continued to strike at each other and block blows. It seemed almost mechanical. Hijikata rubbed his chin. He had to admit; he was decently impressed. When Chizuru had dueled with Saitou, it supposedly only took less than a minute. But somehow, McCarl had managed to hold out for much longer.

Not only was she managing to keep her ground, she was wearing Saitou out. " Toshi, doesn't Saitou-kun look a bit weary?"

He nodded slightly not breaking his concentration from the the duel," He is isn't he? I'm surprised that she's been able to hold for this long. It even seems that she's maybe starting to get the upperhand in the match."

" Mhm. She's sure got the warrior spirit in her. I saw it in her eyes the moment we met. Did you see it too?"

" I did. That sense of perseverance and determination."

Koundou sighed to himself," If she had maybe been born a man in different circumstances, she would have possibly been a find addition for the Shinsengumi don't you think."

However, this time Hijikata stayed silent. He still didn't have favorable feelings for the western girl. Even after all this time, he still didn't trust her. But that's what made him such an "ass" according the other captains and Kondou-san. The fact that he basically didn't trust anyone.

Suddenly he saw a bright flash and a loud _clanging_ sound. The air went tense as everyone saw Yumi's sword get knocked out of her hands.

* * *

He took that brief break of Yumi's concentration to his advantage as he quickly brought the hilt of his sword down on her wrist. Hard.

She yelped in surprize slightly as she let go of her katana. Looking on in dismay she managed to find her sword laying on the dirt ground a few feet away from her. She'd have to run to get it which meant leaving her exposed to Saitou's blows.

Despite that she decided to take the change to quickly grab her sword. She had too if she wanted a good shot at maybe...just maybe winning the duel.

Putting her all in her speed, she quickly charged to where her sword helplessly lay and attempted grab it. However, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a silver blade aiming for her face.

A surge of adrenaline filled her veins as she moved quickly to duck and spin around avoiding the possible fatal swing. While doing so, she had managed to grab the hilt of her blade in a firm grip getting back into ready stance. She maybe hadn't failed after all.

However, instead of returning her more neutral and passive blows earlier, her movements became more aggressive. She was starting to a more offensive approach. Now that she had managed to somehow slightly wear Saitou down, it was her chance to turn the tides drastically.

Saitou grunted slightly as he felt the harsh impact her her sword bashing on his. He was starting to catch on to the girl's trick. All the "play" before was just merely to tire him out so she could really strike in the end. He smirked slightly to himself. _Smart_. But still, he wouldn't let her win.

He continued to do his best to defend himself against her rain of swings trying to find a way through when suddenly it hit him. Due to increased level of power she was putting into her swings, she was now less agile which meant…

She was now less able to defend herself.

 _I need to move quickly though._ As Yumi was about to hit him for the top, he nimbly sidestepped the blow and managed to get behind her.

Yumi's sea blue eyes widened in shock as she realized her blade cut through nothing. He had managed to escape. However, due to blunt force she was using she was too slow to adjust grip and block to impending strike she knew that was heading her way.

But it was too late. Way too late.

She felt the cool sharp metal press alongside her neck. It sent chills through spine as she fought the urge to shiver. Her blood turned cold as realized _it's over._ Despite her efforts, he had beaten her. Still with his blade pressed against her pale neck he leaned closer and whispered in her ear," You impressed me. Being able to last that long. But still, you have a long long way to go if you want to outmatch me."

With that, he lowered his sword quickly and precisely returning it to its sheath. The loud grating sound it made resonated in Yumi's ears. She will still processing what had happened.

Silently the man made his way over to his superior before saying," I think she's more than capable Hijikata-san. She should be fine as long as you're alright with it."

Hijikata nodded and muttered," Do what you wish" before walking off. A classic Hijikata move.

Returning to his beat opponent, he put a hand on her shoulder," Well done. Hijikata-san has approved of your skills and you'll join us later this afternoon for our next patrol."

As soon as he finished, he left silently and mysteriously. Yumi still stoof dumbstruck confused on what just happened. Chizuru ran over cheerfully. " Good Job Yu-chan! You're so amazing! We were so impressed!"

The three other men also walked over giving her pats on her back.

The red haired men throatily chuckled," Damn that was good. It's been a while since we saw a match like that. Really had our hearts going dear."

" Pretty good for someone who hasn't held a sword for six years eh? I'd sure say so." Shinpachi threw an strong arm around her.

Even though she was bashfully denying their compliments with a huge blush on her face, she couldn't help but remember how Saitou whispered in her ear.

One day, she would beat him. One day she would. But in the meantime, this would do.

* * *

Kakizome* - It's the first piece of calligraphy done for New Years in Japan. Traditional Chinese characters are often used and words written are sort of a New Years resolution in a way.


	7. Chapter 7

The candle light glowed softly reflecting on her skin. Soft cotton brushed against her skin as she changed to get ready for bed. Other than the sound of rustling cloth and movement, the room was silent. Meanwhile, a candle also glowed on the other side of the shared room as Yamazaki sat his desk silently writing notes down with a soft horse tail brush. The dark ink made rich strikes on the thin paper he wrote upon.

Through the two months they had spent sharing a room together, they had established a few rules. A routine. And none of them had even spoken about. It just happened.

Whenever, Yumi changed she stayed in the room still and if Yamazaki was there, he just merely made an effort to not look over at her side. Of course, she still changed with her back facing her but even still, he didn't want intrude her privacy.

" After all she's still a woman and I'm still a man." he thought ambly to himself

Yamazaki heard the familiar sound of rustling cloth. He rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes as he decided to shit his thoughts off of sleep. The night was still young and his work was still plentiful. He hated recording medical stocks.

They didn't talk much to each other and when they did most of it was just purely work related. Discussion about patients, treatments, and such. On rare occasions they bantered with each other which was typically about the weather, how one's day went, and how they were feeling health wise. Yamazaki felt a little guilt.

In the beginning she had attempted to try to grow closer with him but his cold self had trouble letting people in. After her attempts at connection and friendship went unreturned for a while, she started to give up her efforts. They were still very much aware of each other's presence but they were just distant. The silence grew deeper and it was strange but he couldn't handle it anymore.

" I heard you sparred with Saitou today." he mumbled nonchalantly

There was a brief pause of silence before he soft voice answered," Mhm. But I ended up losing. How did you find out?"

Yumi had been startled hearing his voice and then surprised at the fact that he, Yamazaki Susumu, calm and quiet, was actually attempting to start a conversation with her. This was the first time that he ever said the first word.

She heard a light chuckle, also something she never heard before, before he answered," While they were cooking, Harada was grilling Saitou about you really matching him up. Everyone who saw you two said you impressed them."

No longer hearing the rustling of cloth he looked over at her who returned his gaze with an obvious blush on her cheeks.

Stammering she tripped over her words," A-ah they're just merely being kind I think. I don't think I did so well considering that I lost in the end."

She was embarrassed at the amount of praise she was getting. Never ever had she taken compliments and positive remarks well. It just felt uncomfortable to her.

" I didn't see you but if you can last that long while sparring with him, I'd be impressed. It's hard to drag out duels with him mostly because he tends to beat his opponents within the first few seconds. Only the captains have managed to do what you were able to do."

" That's probably just because I was just trying to make him tired. It's nothing really."

His eyebrow quirked up inquisitively," Tire him out?"

She nodded as she sat down on her futon," When I took lessons at the local dojo I wasn't the strongest student. I don't really have any muscles and I'm basically just very weak physical wise. My heart's not very good. But because of that I just had to find other methods to climb my way up."

" I see by slowly beating your opponent rather than doing it as quick as possible?"

" Mhm. That's what my teacher taught me. There's always another way and just use your head."

It made sense as Yamazaki turned away back to his work. At first it seemed unusual how Yumi could have managed to give the skilled swordsman a challenge due to the fact that she just didn't carry the physique of someone who was capable of using a blade. Her build was very delicate looking and and her arms will thin and frail looking; certainly not like the rest of the men.

" Anyway, I'll be turning in for the night. Remember to rest as soon as you can." she said softly

" Good night McCarl. I will."

A peaceful silence settled into the room with the sound of Yumi's soft breathing and the crickets chirping outside. Yamazaki sighed to himself as he rubbed his eyes. Exhaustion was now a very prevalent feeling that clouded his mind in the recent days. There was just so many reports to and so many men he…

He couldn't concentrate sometimes. Especially at night. And it's not like nobody noticed it. Heisuke and Sannin told him constantly to take a day off. But how could he with the constant surge of medical need amongst the men? Kondou always suggested he get some rest. Yumi...he could feel the looks she gave her when she ended up to bed before him. Always almost begging him to sleep. And Hijikata told him to lighten his load by having her help him. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. It wasn't like she wasn't exhausted either.

The dark circles that not only he sported but was also visible under her eyes. Taking naps even for just five minutes when she had the chance. Mixing up patients and writing the wrong notes. It's just not like her. But still, she never failed to get the job done in the end.

Yamazaki looked over towards her sleeping back. She also never failed to do her best to care for him despite him being so distant. Even late in the night, she would get up from her desk to bring him a cup of tea. If he was working during meal times, there would always be a tray of food left for him in the room. And no matter how tired she was, she would always offer that sad smile of hers to him. He didn't deserve it.

" There's been a surge of new injuries and sickness amongst the Shinsengumi. But despite, the extra work, Yumi's never complained once and always completes her duties vigorously." he contemplated

She was truly a trooper. After all, she was more of the main doctor and he the assistant. There were many things she could do and he could not. So much more that she could see and understand. Surgeries and amputations were performed by her with him merely being on the side ready to assist her in any needed way. So far she had not failed a single one.

Despite her sleep deprived state, she held her hands nice and steady. Each cut and movement precise and exact. He had to admit he was amazed. But also content. Because now, the Shinsengumi had a proper doctor to treat wounds that he couldn't fix.

Finally giving in to his drooping eyelids he shook his head and laid down his brush. After stacking his papers in a neat pile he gently blew out the candle watching as the golden glow in the room vanished to the purple darkness. He was so tired he couldn't even see straight.

In the darkness he fumbled around for his sleep wear as he clumsily managed to change. His hands worked with the knot that tied his hakama to his plain forest green kimono. Normally he would end up falling asleep wearing what he had worn that day but tonight, he didn't forget. His mind was cloudy as usual but also strangely clear at the same time.

Laying in his futon he looked up at the ceiling. It was often at nights like these where he would just think and think and think. But tonight, his thoughts were filled with the person that lay sleeping next to him.

" Yamazaki-san?"

He turned his head over for his eyes to meet hers that seemed to shine in the darkness," Sorry did I wake you up?"

She gave him what in the darkness, seemed to be a smile as she whispered," No not at all. I was just waiting to make sure you went to bed."

He felt a little shocked but strangely, warm at the same time. Her concern and care for him extended this far. " You didn't have to do that McCarl. You're already exhausted yourself."

" But you are too. I just want to make sure you don't collapse one day while working" her tone held a slight teasing to it

He laughed a little," If you're getting at me for last week I didn't collapse. It's called tripping. It happens to humans when they walk."

She laughed in return," Whatever you say Yamazaki-san...whatever you say."

" Alright Goodnig-"

" Please just call me Yumi."

" Pardon?"

She sighed and said softly," I'm your roommate. Your comrade. No need to be so formal with me because I'd like to get to know you better. Having you address me by my last name is a barrier between that. Of course you don't have to but if you'd like that'd be-"

" No I'd like that. Good night", he paused and turned up one corner of his mouth," Yumi-chan."

" Sleep well Yama-"

" Yamazaki-kun. If I won't be formal with you please feel more freedom with me. Deal?"

She giggled softly. " Alright Yamazaki-kun. Sleep well."

He, Yamazaki Susumu, did not deserve this person. He really did not.

* * *

I really have a soft spot for Yamazaki as he was always one of my favorite characters despite him having a minor role. Out of all the other bois I cried the most when he passed and damnnn I was so upset for dayssss. Everyone around me was like "what da fuq?" and I didn't know how to explain hahahaha. Thank you everyone for following my story and favoriting it. It really means so much to me as a writer because I enjoy writing for people. I'm very insecure as a writer and I have deleted several fics before because I didn't like it. I thought and planned for months for this one and seeing people enjoy it makes me the happiest. Whenever you guys tell me you want to read more, it lights up my day like no other and get's me through the tough nights when I cannot bring myself to type another word.

Please leave a review if you can and don't forget to follow for update alerts! 3 3


	8. Chapter 8

_Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears_

 _While we all sup sorrow with the poor_

 _There's a song that will linger forever in our ears_

 _Oh Hard times come again no more_

* * *

The amputation had taken nearly three hours to finish. Yumi sighed heavily to herself as she rested her head on her desk. It had been absolutely exhausting. _Yoshiharu_. _One of Harada's men._ That had been the man's name.

A few weeks ago there had been a scuffle while they were on patrol and Yoshiharu had gotten stabbed in the leg. While the wound as very minor, the infection that followed was severe. Just days after Yumi had disinfected and stitched the wound shut, his leg began showing small signs of danger. However, Yamazaki decided that some herbal oils would quell the small infection.

At the time, Yumi had decided to go along with what the older man said but that seemed to be a mistake. In a week, the skin around the wound began to slowly rot and decay and by then, it was too late. The poor man suffered weeks as the agony and smell of the wound just got worse and worse by the day. Pus flowed seemingly endlessly out of him. Finally, in the previous night, Yamazaki had grimly told her that he needed to get his leg amputated or the infection would spread.

The operation went smoothly and the man seemed stable, still sleeping under the effects of the anesthesia. Despite that, during the operation, her roomate seemed... _haunted._ She couldn't imagine how much Yamazaki was hurting at the moment.

He had basically ruined the man's life. Without a leg, he was crippled. Yoshiharu could never carry a sword and fight anymore. _And God knows how much that man wanted to._

While swimming heavily through her thoughts, Yumi picked up some angry yelling through the thin shoji doors.

" Fucking hell Yamazaki, do you know what you did?"

She heard a meeker voice mumble something inaudible in return. Probably Yamazaki.

" You think sorry's going to cut it?! Is that what you think that man's leg means?! Dammit he won't ever be able to get up and fight again! You ruined him!"

Again...inaudible mumbling

"This could have been prevented.", and the voice seemed to almost growl," And you know that. But no, your cocky ass decided that it would be fine to just sit and wait. If I had my way, I'd just drop you into the streets and that girl could just take your place."

Yumi had enough.

Sliding the door open violently, the sudden noise startled both men. Horaku, one of Yoshiharu's bunkmates was grabbing Yamazaki's kimono forcing him to look at him. The face her friend had was unbreakable. Like a dog with its tail between its legs. So unlike his usual stoic self. And seeing that made her angry. Real angry.

" Apologize right now Horaku!" she shouted as she slapped the offending man's hands off of Yamazaki.

Everything fell silent. Yumi rarely raised her voice in anger to anyone. Yamazaki's eyes widened a little while the other man merely raised an eyebrow.

" Yumi please don't interfere. This a matter between him and me. You don't need to get involved." he softly said.

" No Yamazaki-kun. I don't need to get in between but I'm choosing to." she put a hand on his shoulder.

Horaku spoke up again," Why the hell are you taking his side? You know that he messed up and his mistake could have been prevented if he took my friend's injury seriously. He obviously only takes priority for the Captains instead of the real manpower like us."

" Could you shut the hell up for once?" Yumi replied in an eerily calm tone.

That seemed to get to him as he clamped his mouth shut. " You don't know how hard it is for doctors. We have so many lives resting on our shoulders and we have so many promises to deliver. You don't have a damn clue how tired he is. For your information, Yamazaki here only sleeps maybe five hours or less sometimes to keep everything in control. Patients, notes, stocks, he deals with everything! And yes, he could dump more of it on me. Yes he could shed some of the blame on me; but he chooses not to! Because he's always trying to protect me. To make sure that I can live with a more easy conscience and that I can at least get one more hour of rest."

Her chest heaved from the the anger and sadness her words carried. Meanwhile, the brown haired man just stood at the side with his eyes and mouth open wide.

Continuing her tangent," Being a doctor is so stressful. You guys think its just simple work. To everyone all we do is diagnose someone and perform some magic on them. We work hours to see if what we're doing is right and to be honest, we are always scared that we're going to mess up. We aren't perfect. The fear lingers forever in our heads that we have the capability to kill people if we aren't careful. And sometimes even when we are...we still end up doing that. We don't mean to ruin people's lives. Yamazaki works so hard to keep everyone alive and healthy but the one time where his efforts couldn't bear fruit; you attack him. Look, I'm not trying to say that Yoshiharu's leg didn't matter. Just look at him! He's being consumed by his own guilt and he probably hates himself right now. He tried his best. But ultimately it was both of our fault's. But we tried to damn hard."

She was so out of breathe. Shouting always tired her out, especially belting out her feelings. Despite that she grabbed Yamazaki's hand and started dragging him away. " Let's go. You don't need this."

Almost shoving him into the room, she slammed the door with as much gusto as before. And then just like nothing had happened, she made a beeline for her futon and collapsed on it. Yumi wanted nothing more than to sleep the rest of the day away. She closed her eyes and turned to her side. _And I'm probably going to do just that._

She heard the soft rustling of fabric as someone sat down next to her. Cracking open one eye, she sees the man cross legged with gently expression.

 _Hmmm_ she mumbles. Too tired to even respond at the moment. He puts a hand on her head and smoothes some strands out of her face. " Thanks", he says quietly," You didn't have to do that but you still did."

" Of course" she mumbled back sleepily

" Sleep Yup. You really need it. I'll wake you up for dinner."

He began stroking her hair and running his fingers through it. It felt good. Good enough to completely drag her to finally sleep

* * *

Yamazaki sighed as moved his fingers through her soft hair. His heartfelt warm. The things she had said…

He sighed," I guess it's in a way true?"

At the moment, despite the chaos that had just happened, he felt calm. Someone in the world could feel and understand the pain. At least he had somebody.

* * *

Hi guys! I'm back! Sorry for going MIA for a while I just was too busy to write. Still planning for the next chapter to be on the big side because bum bum bum?! We're going to see someone Yumi knows show up?!

Don't forget to leave a review my lovelies 3

\- Author


	9. Chapter 9

Hi everyone! It's been almost a month since I've updated but school has been super super busy and I've had to do a lot of research for this chapter. Yumi's gonna crack some boob jokes and meet some interesting people. Hope you enjoy!

As a major note please READ THIS... Anything dialogue written in _Italics_ is in English. This might be confusing but basically, all the characters are speaking in Japanese. Words like _this_ are being spoken in English. Normal words like "this" are being spoken in Japanese.

 _Italics =_ English

* * *

Saitou stood in front of the washing basin scrubbing away at the stubborn sticky rice that coated the bowls. Most would groan when the chore list switched to their week but he surprisingly enjoyed it. It was quiet, peaceful, and free of any other humans. Depressing as it sounded, he preferred to be away from people a lot of time. Or at least most people.

He didn't mind the company of a few people. He respected Hijikata-san with all his heart but he wasn't who he'd consider a close friend. Okita annoyed him to a certain degree but was pleasant enough for sparring. He didn't talk much with Harada and-

He had to stop his thought. It wasn't just Harada; he really didn't talk much with anyone. But with Chizuru and Yumi being the slight exception. They really seemed to make headquarters seem a bit brighter. The smile that both of them flashed towards everyone. The vases of flowers Chizuru put in the Captain's rooms. Yumi's small talk and jokes. Maybe this was what people would call a _woman's touch_.

" Oi Saitou what you up to?"

Okita leaned against the wall with his trademark fox grin plastered across his face. Without stopping the rhythmic scraping of the dishes he replied coolly," Washing the dishes and finishing my duties. Unlike a certain somebody standing in front of me."

The redhead feigned surprize raising an eyebrow," And what are you accusing me of my dear Saitou-kun?"

" Today is actually your day to do the washing up. I didn't realize that until I saw you sneaking off quickly after breakfast."

Giving the look of a defeated child he pouted playfully," Mah mah Hajime you're no fun."

" I'm not here to be fun."

Now grinning again he said," Well suit yourself. Anyway, Hijikata wants to see you."

The scrubbing stopped momentarily," Hmmm? Did he specify a reason?"

" No he didn't. Just go and see him"

* * *

" You wanted to see me sir?"

Hijikata was kneeling in front of his desk staring at the wall. His eyes shifted towards Saitou for a quick moment before returning towards their original "point of focus". " Yes I did. Take a seat."

The purple haired man walked quietly towards the older man and sat down wordlessly in front of the other. Both men sat quietly as minutes seemed to pass by.

" Say Saitou, the cherry blossoms can tell a lot about people. Wouldn't you say so?"

Cocking an eyebrow at the sudden analogy," Hmmm?"

" Some may scowl that the blossom's life is short lived much like the good in this world filled with corruption. However, others may say that its beauty out-glows all and is like a miracle. Sparse yet most welcoming."

" I agree."

Hijikata finally met Saitou's eyes and put a hand on his comrade's shoulder," Behind those eyes of yours lay a very strong and wise conscience but, I did not ask you to come here just to ramble about flowers. I need you to do me a favor. I'd go myself but my paperwork says otherwise. I need you to deliver a message to McCarl if you could."

" Of course. What should I tell her?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Something he did only under intense pressure and stress. " Later today, probably in a few hours, we will be expecting some important guests. A foreign business man is here to negotiate a certain deal. While the main guy of the party seems decently fluent in Japanese, I'd still like some backup. If I remember clearly, the group is from Britain."

" Where Yumi's also from."

" Exactly. I'd like to ask Yumi for a favor. I need to her help us translate if needed. Could you tell her that?"

Saitou was already at the door. " Of course Hijikata-san. Am I excused?"

He smiled warmly at the other man," Of course. I hope you will join us when our guests come."

" I hope you should expect nothing less.

* * *

" You guys don't believe me?! Fine I'll just show you then"

Heisuke and Yamazaki sat cross-legged next to each other as they stared in utter confusion at the blue eyed girl standing in front of them. In her arms she held a cantaloupe that looked like…

" Don't they look like of breasts?!" she almost shrieked with excitement," I found them in them in market while I was shopping for tonight's dinner and the minute I saw it, I knew I had to get it! It was so cheap too since nobody wanted it."

The grin on her face was almost comical and the two men couldn't help but chortle when she held the "interestingly shaped" melon to her own chest with a smirk. Often times Heisuke would wander to Yumi's room on his off time to chat with her. Sometimes, Chizuru would be there. Other times it was Harada and Shinpachi. In other words, she had a lot of visitors. To her, it was just fun to chat with people and joke around them with them. However, when she had returned from the market neither Yamazaki or Heisuke was in her shared room. She had quite literally searched headquarters from hell and back to find the two of them and show them her findings.

" Is this the only things you called us here to show us?" Yamazaki asked with good humor and a playful eyebrow raise

She nodded and passed the melon to him with enthusiasm. " It may look ugly but just think of it as two fruits for the price of one. I typically cut them before bringing them to dinner but tonight's gonna be treat."

" Let me guess, you're going to cut it in front of everyone?" Heisuke said

" You got it!"

Suddenly a firm knock on the door interrupted their chatter. " Is Yumi in here?"

" Yes! Come in!"

Saitou walked in casually with his usual stoic expression. " Hijikata wanted me to tell you something. Are you busy right now?"

She shook her head," No. Not at all go ahead."

" Apparently later today Hijikata-san will be be meeting with some foreign businessmen and he would like to ask you for a favor. He believes that you may speak the same language as them as they come from Britain. Are you willing to help?"

" If I can do my part of course I'd love too! When are they arriving?"

" Possibly in roughly two hours."

She walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder," Well then Saitou, tell him that I'll be there."

He nodded and was about to walk back out when she grabbed the melon and thrust it in his face. " Don't these look like breasts?"

And then...he did something that made the entire room fall silent. A redness started at the apples of his cheeks and then slowly spread all the way to his ears. The great calm and stone faced Saitou Hajime was...blushing. He was blushing.

None of them had any words as they stared at the purple haired man with wide eyes. Yumi had no idea who started first but suddenly someone started shrieking with raucous laughter. Then soon, everyone was laughing except Saitou, who's cheeks were growing redder with the second. He may be cold but he wasn't a stone wall.

Yumi was practically dying with laughter by the time she managed to breathe. Tears were squeezing past her eyes and she used her sleeve to wipe them as she caught her breathe.

" Haa I'm sorry Saitou-kun. I didn't mean to embarrass you like that. This melon is just quite fascinating and," she almost started laughing again," I'm just showing everyone this cause it's not everyday you see a freak of nature like this."

He shook his head and mumbled," Ah no need to apologize. Is it ripe enough to eat for dinner tonight?"

" Should be. I'm going to cut it in front of everyone so they can see this beauty I found." she returned proudly.

He nodded and excused himself as quick as he had come.

* * *

The minute he left, everyone in the room burst into peals of laughter once again. They stayed that way for what seemed like forever till Yumi caught her breath and started pushing Heisuke out of the room.

" Sorry Heisuke-kun I'm going to need to kick you out. I need to get ready for the visitors."

" Wait wha-"

He never got to finish his thoughts as was successfully forced out of the room. Yamazaki had already returned to his desk to the mountain of papers that never seemed to end. Walking up behind him she gently put a hand on the side of his neck," Yamazaki, you need me to do some of those? If I do half later tonight, you'll get through them by nightfall."

Without looking up or ceasing his writing, he put his left hand over hers. " It's alright Yumi I'll be fine. Please don't worry about me too much. Remember to leave some left for yourself."

" No really it's fi-"

" You have to help Hijikata out later anyways. Just focus on that and getting ready okay?" he turned over slightly and smiled reassuringly.

With a defeated sigh she mumbled," Okay then. But please please please; if you ever need help, I really want you to ask me."

He nodded and returned back to the books. She shook her head head in slight disbelief. That man was truly going to work himself to death one day. And she thought she considered herself dedicated.

While it didn't seem like it, she did enjoy her fair share of cosmetics which was probably the work of her cousin. She didn't like to go all out but just some like blusher and rogue could do wonders for her. Despite having to pack light, she did manage to take some personal items.

Reaching into the worn leather bag she took along on her journey, Yumi pulled out the only dress and petticoat she had taken with her. It was made out of navy blue cotton with a white peter pan style collar. The hem of the dress was lined with white lace ruffles and fell five inches above her ankles. On the front bodice, five golden buttons were neatly sewn into a row. The long sleeves were puffy and had a white color with a gold button to close it. Even though it seemed absurd, this dress was on the plain side compared to the many others that she owned. All of them, happened to still lay in mahogany closet on 809 Berkshire Street.

Her Aunt had absolutely detested corsets and forbade her and Adelaide. " It will work absolute hell on your back and lungs when you reach old age. And trust me, I'll get you two to at least sixty if I can help it." was what she'd say every time her cousin would beg for one. All the girls at school wore it and she felt left out to a certain degree without it. Finally, six months after Ada had first started pestering, her Aunt had finally given in allowing her to have a glimpse of the horrors a corset could bring. After fitting her for one, she had allowed her over excited cousin to walk a week with one. However, the condition was that she had to keep it on during the day, and at night when she slept. Although her popularity suddenly peaked amongst her female classmates, the novelty of it was short lived. All of her friends only wore their corsets during the day and took it out for the comfort of sleep. The exhaustion and pain of wearing it finally grew on Adelaide and finally, before the week was even up, she came running to their Aunt begging to take it off.

But really, it didn't matter too much since both girls had a slim figure. Of course Yumi's cousin still pined for the extravagant pinched waist, lifted bosom, and the stuck out rear end; but her comfort was enough to keep those wants at bay.

She turned the dress around only to find a small rip on the skirt…

Picking up her skirt she prepared to get up when suddenly she realized she couldn't. Everytime she attempted to get up, the box would rise with her. Reaching down on the back of her skirt she felt the cool metal of a nail.

" Dammit", she mentally screamed. A nail from the box snagged her skirt and it was stuck. The man's bellowing got louder and louder. If she didn't leave soon, she would be caught.

" If I just get up quickly it'll probably rip off" she thought. Rising full force and attempting to break out in a run, she heard a loud crash.

The nail was still stuck her her skirt and she had successfully managed to knock the box over. " Great just fucking great".

However, she only realized that it gave out her clear location to her pursuer. Grabbing the thick cloth of her skirt, she yanked it hearing an audible ripping of fabric that set her free to run.

* * *

It was from the incident that night. The only reason she ever found Chizuru. And the only reason she would have ever found her within the hands of the Shinsengumi. Although she still highly disagreed of the way they played out that night's events; she understood why to some extent. Even though she still harvested an ample amount of distaste towards the fox faced Okita, he was good enough of a person. The same went towards everyone in the Shinsengumi. All of them were honorable men with good hearts. They held a cause and dream dear in their hearts, and mercilessly chased after it.

After starting with plain white wool stockings, Yumi pulled the lace frilly petticoat and pulled it up towards her waist. It had six tiers of ruffles which made it as poofy as a "travel" underskirt could possibly be. Her Aunt had tried to stuff a foldable crinoline skirt into her bag, but as expected, it didn't fit. So a simpler skirt had to do.

Her fingers slowly unbuttoned the blue dress, clumsy after almost a whole year without running through this normally regular action. Pulling it over her head, she smoothed the skirt over the petticoat, trying her best to unwrinkle the dress to her best capability. It had been ages since she had worn a western style dress. She mainly wore men's clothing like Chizuru; on the except for New Years where she and her friend had dawned kimonos for the annual shrine visit.

Feeling the heavy and thick cotton she smiled. It felt good. But some part of her stomach twisted a bit. Wearing clothes like this…

Yumi couldn't help but feel a little homesick for England.

She mused over her emotions as she coifed her hair back into a simple braided bun and tied it up with a few pins and a blue silk ribbon that was supposed to be the sash for the dress. Dipping her fingers in the rogue pot, she smoothed the soft red color over lips and cheeks. She inspected her face in a small mirror and smiled softly. Her Aunt had always said to never let anyone know that she used cosmetics to enhance her appearance. Makeup was for *harlots and whore women so she should never be caught even dead with it. All products must be used sparingly and softly.

" Are you done changing?" Yamazaki's voice startled her a bit

" A-ah yes. D-do you need something?" she stammered softly

He had wanted to go to the kitchen to get some water but that meant he would have to walk through Yumi's side of the room. Even though they were opposite sexes, they could coexists in the same room easily. None of them really announced that they were "changing" and it was just something they both knew when it happened. But recently, Yamazaki started asking her. And Yumi couldn't help but ask herself " what happened?" and "why?". He never did that in the past; so why now?

" I see. I just needed to get some wa-"

Yumi turned around to look at him and he almost choked on his own words. He had seen pictures of Western female models in market stalls that were sold as novelty items and souvenirs. She looked exactly like them. Soft, pure, and esteemed. Her usual cheerful expression matched perfectly with her attire. Yamazaki tried his hardest to push away what he was thinking but still, she looked really nice.

Her face grew bashful as the brown haired man continued to stare at her with his mouth just slightly open. " Do I-I look strange?"

Suddenly he realized that he had been caught looking too long and stumbled," A-Ah no I-t's just...tha-that y-you…" He was a big mess.

" Yamazaki...are you alright? Your face is really red, are you running a fev-" before she could walk over to touch his forehead he finally forced it out.

" It's just that you look really pretty!"

And he knew...that he goofed up. There was a long silence where she just stared at him, her blue sparking wide open. Her cheeks reddened as well and for a while both of them just stared at each other dumbfounded and red faced. Finally Yamazaki shook himself out of it and walked out of the room in a hurry. He didn't say a word leaving Yumi standing there.

Slowly her parted lips twisted upwards in a smile. He had just called her pretty. Yamazaki had just called her pretty! Her smile widened even further as she cupped her cheeks with her hands. The amount of happiness surging through her veins was overwhelming.

" Whoa Yumi-chan!"

The door had been left wide open and now Heisuke stood right in front of it. He also looked a bit shocked. " Is that really you?"

She nodded coyly and laughed," Who else would it be?"

" U-uh you're right. It's just that look so different than you normally do. I-It's not a bad thing. You look nice." he replied while rubbing the back of his neck.

The blush returned back to her cheeks and she awkwardly smiled to thank him. " Oh and Hijikata wanted me to tell you that the guests are here. So whenever you're ready. They're in the main meeting room."

" Thanks for telling me! I'll leave right now."

Yumi left in a hurry fearing that she was late. She knew that Hijikata hated nothing more than being behind schedule. The entire headquarters and courtyard seemed to be almost devoid of people. There were just a few of Harada's men chatting near the water well. All of whom gave Yumi weird glances as they saw a girl dressed in stuffy western clothes running for all hell.

* * *

" I'm sorry I'm late!" Yumi frantically apologized the second she banged the doors open

All of the Shinsengumi captains were already seated neatly in seiza position as were the visitors. Her heart began to beat. There were five of them in the group. They wore either neatly tailored waistcoats or suits. Their crisp button up shirts showed beneath and all of the men dawned neatly stitched trousers. Some of them wore top hats but all wore typically dark colored *day gloves. They had the prime appearance of an English gentleman.

Their blonde and brown hair. Blue, green, hazel eyes. Mustaches and goatees. She hadn't seen anyone that looked like them in such a long time and it felt surreal to her. " Yumi?"

She napped back to reality. Kondou glanced softly at her. " I'm sorry, what did you say?" she mumbled in embarrassment.

He smiled," I was just asking you if you wanted to introduce yourself to our guests?"

" Oh of course!" She bowed her head slightly to them

" Good afternoon gentlemen. You speak English right?"

A middle aged man with dusty blonde hair and gray eyes coughed slightly," We all do Miss. We would like to apologize for continuing to *sit as you came in. It was quite rude of us."

" Of course sir. What do you wish me to address you as?"

" Mr. Edison would be more than delightful. As to you Miss?"

" Please just call me Marion. I don't care much for formality." she said as she shook her head.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion," But Miss, we absolutely must. It would be unkempt to use your *first name. Please, I insist."

She sighed slightly. That was the only thing she didn't miss. The list of absurd manners and formalities she had to take on.

" If you insist, I'm Miss McCarthy. Feel free to use both to your liking." he furrowed a brow slightly but remained silent nonetheless," I'll be your translator for today."

The fine lines crinkled around his eyes as he smiled slightly," That would be lovely my dear. I'll say that my Japanese is decent yet still has a lot of improvement to be desired. It would be great to have some help. But I'm afraid to say that you might not understand what we're discu-"

She set her face slightly," Not to sound crude Mr. Edison, but you should try me. I know I'll be more than fine."

He looked like he was about to say more until she heard Hijikata cough from his seat. Their "introduction" was taking too long.

" Are you all about ready now to start?"

" Of course Hijikata-san." she said curtly.

The meeting was quite dull as Yumi had to admit. There was a lot of talk about trade routes for guns and gunpowder. It was quite a contradiction to Hijikata's beliefs. He was a very traditional Japanese man as he rejected any idea involving Western weapons and concepts. To him, guns was a weapon of cowardice. Although the Choushuu had already implemented firearms into their fighting tactics, the Shinsengumi had yet to do so. This put them at a huge disadvantage. Whenever there was a skirmish, the biggest injuries were from gun wounds. No matter where they were located within the body, they were insanely difficult to remove. Originally, Yumi was able to take care of those herself but when the numbers of those injured swelled, she had to spend a good two days teaching Yamazaki to do the same.

Somehow she knew that either Kondou or Sannan had managed to talk him into considering the idea. She was very impressed though. On the most part, all of the English men were pretty proficient in Japanese. Their pronunciation was a bit spotty but she pretty much didn't have to do anything. She didn't want to admit it, but, hearing English after so long was one of the most comforting things to her. It was a bit strange but it felt nice.

" And we can set up trade lines in the Pac-" Edison was interrupted mid sentence when the shoji doors slammed open loudly.

" I'm sorry I'm late sir! I got lost on my way here!" a male voice frantically painted.

A slightly disheveled young man stood at the doorway. He had light brown hair and soft hazel eyes. His face was strong and broad that still carried evidence of his youth. A loud sharp crash echoed through the room. Bits of ceramic were littered around Yumi as her hand shook. She had dropped the tea cup she was sipping from. Saitou glanced at her with concern. Her face was as pale as corpse and it looked like all the color had been suddenly drained out. Slightly parted lips trembled as her hands shook violently. " She looks like she's seen a ghost or something." he thought to himself. Yumi's blue eyes were opened wide. Everyone followed them to look at that young man standing in front of them.

His eyes too were wide open as he stared back at her. The room suddenly grew cold.

" Marion?"

* * *

Thank you for reading this update chapter and I hope everyone enjoyed it! I am very interested in fashion and if I could choose a career that I really wanted, it would be to design costumes and clothing for movies. One of my favorite fashion eras was the Victorian era. Clothing back was just so beautiful and complicated. So I applied as much knowledge as I knew to this chapter. I also had to dedicate a few days for research on manners and more clothing rules. Here's some notes below to make it easier to read.

* whore women - basically, there was this rule back then which was a "no makeup rule" for women. Cosmetics were associated with prostitutes so sophisticated women wouldn't dare to be caught wearing them. That didn't mean they didn't use it though. They would sometimes send their servants to other towns to buy products so it would be descreet. When they applied makeup, it had to be very soft and natural. the main thing used was rogue and powders.

* Day gloves - men and women had to wear gloves in public and for men there was a rule. Dark colors such as grey and black were worn during the day. White or cream colors were worn at night. Gloves that were not made of kid, leather, or "high class" materials such as cotton were considered disgraces.

* sit - Women and men had a lot of rules to follow etiquitte wise. For men, if a woman entered a room, they would have to stand up to show respect. Yumi is around the age where men would have to follow this formality.

*first name - both men and women were barred from adressing anyone using their first name in public. It was only done in private with very close people. There was a whole system on how to adress someone.


	10. Chapter 10

The room seemed to freeze within time. Harada swallowed. To be brutally honest, the meeting had been one of the most boring half an hour in his whole life. However, when that man had just suddenly shown up…

It scared Yumi. Scared her bad.

Yumi stood up abruptly and started muttering. She didn't seem to be talking to anyone. She just seemed to be talking to herself. " Oh god not again. Stop it. Do you hear me? He's gone and I-"

Suddenly the hazel eyed man stepped forward to reach out his hand in an attempt to grasp hers. Yumi suddenly gasped sharply as she stepped backwards. Her vision grew fuzzy and slow. Things grew sluggish and all of a sudden, she didn't feel to well. Strength in her legs was starting give out and before she knew it, she was collapsing.

She braced herself to hit the floor but it never came. It was almost like she was floating. There were voices calling out for her. Saying her name.

" Yumi!"

" Yumi are you alright?"

" What's wrong?"

" What happened?"

" Can you hear me?"

They could have yelled with the strength of a thousand men but still, it sounded so far away. It was like a dream. Just like the Jerome standing in front of her. All just a dream.

* * *

Despite his calm demeanor, Saitou was a very assertive person. He could react right when something happened and that was on the most part a blessing. Especially now.

Yumi had started to look sick. Her face was stark white and her eyes were heavily glazed over. It looked like she was having a hard time standing and a pit formed in his stomach. When she had collapsed, he quickly reached out to catch her. His usual stoic expression melted into a face of concern. He had never seen Yumi faint before, except the time where he had knocked her out cold. That night was a long time ago.

The entire room burst into a scene of immediate chaos. Everyone crowded around the two and he could barely tell who was saying what.

" Yumi!" Harada was frantic as he attempted to gently slap her face. As quickly as he had caught her, slapped the red head's hand away with a look of warning.

Heisuke, attempting to jump over Shinpachi's broad shoulders hollered," Yumi are you alright?"

" What's wrong?"

" Can you hear me?" Saitou was positively ready to slap whoever had asked that. It was quite obvious that she couldn't stay awake as much as hear anything.

The purple haired man tightened his embraced on the delicate woman in his arms. He wasn't the type to raise his voice, but, desperate times call for desperate measures.

" Everyone stop talking and move away!"

His voice, certainly not as loud as Hijikata's, was enough to shut everyone up and force them to slowly move aside. Everyone looked utterly concerned and shocked. Yumi's fainting had shook them to the core.

His long slender fingers brushed some hair out of her face as he peered down at her face. The color was still sucked clean out of her cheeks and she looked almost corpse like. Despite his bashful nature towards individuals of the opposite sex, he lay his palm flat against her chest. Her heart was racing intensely.

The foreign man tried to move towards them but stopped dead in his tracks when Saitou glared at him. " Don't come another step towards her. She needs space." he said curtly

Guests or not guests, he still expected everyone to be respectful.

He almost seemed like he was going to get out but stuttered," L-let me."

" Pardon?"

His eyes narrowed with a sheer look of determination on them. " I said let me. I can help."

His Japanese was incredibly broken and muggy but Saitou could sort of make out what the other man was saying.

" I know her more than any of you probably do. Let me help her."

Saitou's body seemed to move on its own accord as he mentally slapped himself. He loosened his grip on Yumi and let out a defeated nod. Laying her gently on the ground, he got up silently and walked out of the room. Shinpachi gave him a concerned glance on his way out and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

After watching him leave, the brown haired man nodded and knelt down. Tenderly, he lifted Yumi's head slightly so it was at an angle. Reaching into his pocket with his other hand, he pulled out a metal flask and with his teeth, popped the cap off. After taking a deep breath and exhaling, he waved the metal container under her nose. Confused at what he was trying to get at, Kondou was about to open his mouth to speak until Heisuke shouted," Look!"

Suddenly, Yumi gasped as her eyes blinked open. Her pupils darted around frantically as she struggled to take in her surroundings. Upon seeing the familiar faces she visibly calmed down as her breathing slowed.

" Marion?"

Upon making eye contact with the man she screamed. Everyone flinched. Other than never seeing her faint, they had never ever heard her scream in fear before. Today was a whole bunch of firsts for the Shinsengumi captains.

" Marion?"

The next few moments was a blur. No one could understand what they were saying. All the words that came out of their voices sounded like seashells within a raging ocean.

" Marion look at me. I-Is that you?" he said hesitantly

The blue eyed girl began to harshly shake her head and diverted her sight towards the ground.

" No no no no no. It's not real. Go away you're not real. Nothing's real." she muttered in a voice that didn't belong to her.

" Darling please ju-" he reached his gloved hard towards the side of her face only to have them swatted away by the girl's trembling hands.

" Leave me alone! For the past two years you have tormented me. Every day. Every second. You're not real!" she was almost shouting now.

" For the love of God, Marion just look at me!" he grabbed her shoulders and shook her briskly.

That seemed to snap her back to reality as her frantic muttering came to a halt and her eyes immediately lost that glaze-like quality. She was okay.

Her eyes finally slowly peeled their sight away from the tatami floor and met the man's smoldering gaze. His face melted into an expression that could only be described as broken. Broken and relieved as he tenderly grasped the sides of Yumi's face. He closed his eyes and gently lowered his forehead to touch hers. Their noses touched.

" Oh God...Marion it's you. After all this time. It's you. My darling I-I thought I'd never see you again I-"

His hands lowered themselves to her waist; tightly embracing Yumi's fragile figure, pulling her closely to his body. Feelings seemed to express themselves on their own. Desperation.

Everyone in the room watched in uncomfortable silence at the odd pair. Hijikata started on with his mouth just slightly open. What words were being exchanged between the two was unknown. Whatever they were saying, it was not in Japanese. However, it was fair to say that no one, not even the foreigners, knew what the hell was going on.

Suddenly a heart wrenching sob rang out throughout the room. The saddest and most mournful sound. Desperation. Anger. Joy. Shock. Pain. That one kitten like sound carried all of them.

From that one sob, came a whole wave of others and her once limp arms, rose from her side to tightly grasp his back. Sobs and tears wracked her body as she cried hotly into the other's chest. The broken expression that man's face slowly turned warm again as he buried his face into her hair. Yumi felt like everything was crashing down.

Minutes that seemed like hours passed and no one moved a muscle. Not a soul in that quiet room dared too. The tension was so thick, a knife could cut it. And just like always, Yumi was that knife.

Pushing him off of her she glared at him and did the unexpected. She slapped him. Slapped him hard. The sharp sound echoed throughout the entire room as everyone watched in amusement and horror.

" Jerome where the hell have you been?! Do you know how bloody long it's been?! Do you have any idea?!"

His eyes glistened as he tried to reach out to again with his arms. Another slap.

" You have no idea what hell I've felt for the past two years! Everyday. Every hour, minute, second has been spent asking one question. Is Jerome still alive? Always just that one question! You've never thought to write back to me or to find a way to contact me. Never!"

" B-but sweetheart-"

" Don't sweetheart me you bastard! I-I was so scared. Everyone told me that," with hot tears still trickling out her eyes she took a shuddering breath as she let out another sob," Everyone told me that you were dead. Even my own Aunt told me to give up because she knew you were not ever coming back. Oh what a fool I was I-"

She stopped mid sentence as she wrapped her arms around him once again. " Oh I've missed you much you can't ever begin to imagine." she said with a muffled voice.

" Me too my dear. Every living second, I spent thinking about you. I'm so sorry I was wrong. I should have never left you. I'm so sorry please-"

With an eerily calm voice she whispered harshly," I don't want to hear that you're sorry. Sorry doesn't bring back the past. It doesn't fix a thing."

She sharply pushed him away and briskly left the room. Everything was dead silent as everyone winced at the sound of the shoji doors slamming.

" Marion wait I-"

He stopped at the sound of gruff coughing. Hijikata shot him his signature glare.

" I do hope you know that you have a hell lot of explaining to do."

* * *

" So you were her what?"

Jerome rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly," I-I was her fiance sir."

Heisuke spoke up," Wait so Yumi was engaged?!"

" Who's Yumi?"

With a puzzled look the younger boy mumbled," Whadda you mean who's Yumi? Don't you know the name of the woman you're going to marry?"

"Huh?" his hazel eyes rippled with confusion.

" Heisuke!" Hijikata said sharply. His glare was enough to force a meek "sorry" out of the boy's mouth.

Suddenly Jerome's eyes lit up," Oh! I understand now. You all call her Yumi but we called her Marion. It was her English name. Marion."

" Marion" the words rolled over funny on Heisuke's tongue. He didn't really like it.

" But anyway, yes. We were going to get married. We were in the same arithmetic class when I first met her..", he paused and gazed at the ceiling with a fond look on his face," I'm four years older than her but I knew that she was the one I wanted to spend my life with."

" So did you ever end up getting married?" Harada asked, oddly intrigued.

The warm look on his face faded quickly as he pressed his lips together and sighed. " No". His answer was short and it was obvious there were no more words to be said about it.

" But why di-"

" Heisuke!" Hijikata scolded for almost the fifth time that day. That boy had a knack for saying the wrong things at the wrong time. No matter how much this guy pissed him off just a bit before, they were still guests.

" Jerome you've never told me about this before? How come?" it was Edison's turn for shock.

" Yes why haven't you told any of us?" one of the other men chimed in

He fidgeted with his gloves slightly and lowered his head," B-because I made a mistake", suddenly realizing the error in words stammered," N-not l-like that! I mean I di-didn't regret proposing to her. I just made a mistake before the wedding day."

Once again, the tension returned to the room and this time Kondou decided to smooth it. " Well let's forget what we just said now. Why don't you all join the Captains and me for dinner tonight. There's still a few hours before sundown so you all can return to your Inn to rest and freshen up. You just arrived today and I can only imagine how exhausted everyone is."

He smiled warmly to relax and thin the air. This time, Edison could only smile back. The fine lines near his eyes crinkling. " That would be wonderful. A dinner to celebrate our friendship."

As everyone in the room began to slowly file out, Saitou waited till everyone except Jerome was out before grabbing his shoulder. Hazel eyes turned to meet cold purple ones. His face was stoic yet oddly menacing.

" You are our guests and I do hope very much that you feel welcome with us", his eyes narrowed slightly," However, I do suggest not going near Yumi. I don't think you would like to find out what happens if you upset her anymore than you already have."

The westerner opened his mouth obviously a bit shocked with the direct words just spoken to him," Wait but it was just a bad time I-"

" It really doesn't matter what the circumstances were", making sure that the others had left he tightened his grip on his shoulder," If she wanted to see you, she would have been glad. None of us had ever seen Yumi act like this before and the fact that you caused her such grief is a sure sign that you're a menace to her life. Engaged or not engaged, it's obvious she doesn't want anything to do with you so I suggest leaving her alone".

His tone left no room for discussion as he calmly strode out leaving a shaken Jerome in his dust. All the soft brown haired could do was to sigh and rub his face with his palms. They say that actions have consequences and oh boy, was he learning that harder than ever.

* * *

Hello everyone! This was a relatively easy chapter to write because I had envisioned this scene from even before I started writing this fanfic. I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for getting me this far. Your kind messages help push me to do my best. In this chapter, I really feel for Jerome because I understand what it's like to have someone want to cut you out of their life. But things will get better for home boi so let's cheer for him.

Just a quick rant on why I've been so slow with updates...

School is really stressing me out right now and with finals coming, lmao I'm lowkey dying. I have a lot of senior friends in high school that are leaving for college so I've been super under the weather recently too. I've always had a problem with saying goodbye to people and just recently I had to say goodbye to a student counselor. I am not allowed to contact him while he is in college due to the fact that he must leave his connections to me and the difficulties I've told him behind. And when I saw him for the last time yesterday, I just started crying because over the span of a year, he had grown a special place in my heart. I'm also really sad yet kind of happy because my crush is leaving for college too. I'm lesbian and she's the first person who I had a chance with. However, despite being pan, she never had any sort of romantic attraction to me at all and just kinda saw me as a sister. It stung a lot when I found out that she had no feelings for me but being friends with her is more than enough for me. I'm hoping that when she leaves for college, I'll have an easier time moving on. I've been trying to loose my crush on her for over eight months and lmaooo it's been so hard. So yeet. I've just been a bit under the weather but I've been feeling happier recently. Sorry for ranting on here but I just needed to get it out. 3

Please don't forget to leave a review! Who do you guys ship her with more? Saitou, Yamazaki, or Jerome? ^=^


	11. Rewrote the story!

Hiya readers! Thank you so much for sticking with me through my writing journey and I apologize for going so long without publishing any updates for the story. I have changed a lot writing style and hahaha I wanted to start over with this story. So...I REWROTE IT T-T. It's basically going to follow roughly the same plot line but just a few simple changes.

The new title is _You haven't changed at all_ and if you click my username, you can see it along with my other works. I hope past readers can continue to follow along Yumi's story!


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